Redemption
by M.Ann42
Summary: Derek Hale is known to be a mysterious, private person. But his world turns upside down as he saves the life of a bubbly, charming girl by the name of Karaline who opens up a side of Derek that has been hidden for so long.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** **I do not own Teen Wolf or any of the characters except for Karaline.**

_I've had this storyline stuck in my head for the past couple of weeks and finally decided to try and write it out. Read, review, and enjoy! _

Full Summary: Derek Hale is known to be a mysterious, private person. After the death of his sister, he has been on the hunt for the Alpha, searching everyone and everything for whatever clues he can find that reveal the identity of this dark creature. He has got his mind set on nothing but getting his revenge. However, when Derek crosses paths with the wolf one night, he unexpectedly finds himself having to save a bubbly girl by the name of Karaline. What happens when the intimidating, short-tempered Derek has to put up with the charming, easy-going style of Karaline? Read to find out the story of Derek's road to redemption as life throws him a curve ball and leads him towards his complete opposite.

_There. _I bolted a sharp right as I caught a glance of those mysterious glowing eyes through the thick fog. I pushed my legs farther as I tried to concentrate on picking up any scent that I could find.

_There!_ I whipped around at in-human speeds towards my left as I faintly caught an unfamiliar scent hovering through the trees. Again I bolted through the pitch black woods trying to locate the source of the strange stench. After a moment, I had found a path that brought the scent stronger with every stride I took — but it wasn't until a couple more seconds later that I somewhat recognized the rusty smell. _Blood. _I knew the Alpha was near.

The forest became a dark blur as I pushed my body farther as the heavy stench of blood grew stronger. After months of this non-stop game of "cat-and-mouse", I had finally caught a break. I was sure the blood belonged to the Alpha.

By now the smell had become powerful and I knew I was less than a mile from the source. A growl was building in my throat as I pictured my claws ripping through the Alpha as soon as I got close. Suddenly my heart jumped as I cringed at a piercing scream in the distance followed by a series of low snarls. My anger ripped out of my throat in a loud growl as I finally caught sight of those glowing eyes about a hundred meters downhill by the darkened creek. There was no way in hell I was going to let this killer go without a fight.

I leaped across the trickling water at lightning speed to find myself entangled with the dark creature. Growls and snarls were exchanged as I ripped and clawed at the wolf, trying to cause as much damage as I could — but to my surprise the Alpha did not fight back, rather the creature was trying to escape as it attempted to run from my grasp. Within a split second, the snarls of the Alpha disappeared as I felt the breath knocked out of me as I slammed against a tree. My head spun as I hit the forest floor. It took me a couple seconds to realize that the wolf had bolted by now.

The Alpha was stronger to say the least.

I lay there, back in my human-form, in the darkness for a couple of minutes not daring to move as I waited for my body to heal itself. I knew bones were broken as a result of the wolf's powerful shove as the agonizing pain slowly started to die down and after a moment, I started to think straight again.

I had caught the scent of the Alpha. I had done damage to it. But I let it get away. Again. I knew that I needed Scott's help if I wanted to destroy the murderer. I would have to fight my stubbornness and ask for his help. It needed to be done — for Lauren.

Suddenly my thoughts were interrupted by a faint sound. A whimpering sound. I jumped onto the balls of my feet as I scanned the trees for those glowing eyes. Had the Alpha come back? My body started to shake as I felt myself transforming, ready to fight again. But I snapped out of the trance as soon as I caught an unfamiliar figure out the corner of my eye.

"What the f-" I slowly crept closer to the figure lying by the edge of the lake.

Abruptly, I remembered the fervent scream that I had heard while racing over hear earlier. I hadn't thought much of it. But now the pieces fit together. I knelt down next to the petite woman as I examined her wounds. The blood belonged to her.

Her forehead was dripping blood onto the cold stones of the creek as well as three large gashes on her arm in what appeared to be claw marks. Her long, dark brown locks were damp from water and blood. I was hesitant to reach out to her as she looked as if she was still somewhat conscious. But when I heard her heart beat grow fainter, I knew she was dying. I carefully scooped her up, careful of any broken bones that she might have had.

The strange girl weakly shifted her large dark blue eyes up at me as I quickly made my way through the dark forest. She opened her mouth to speak, but couldn't draw up enough strength to talk. She was losing a lot of blood and I knew I needed to get home fast.

"Who are you?" I asked firmly as I watched her struggle to stay conscious in my arms. She didn't answer. Her eyes were drooping as she continued to put up a fight to stay awake. I could see the faint glow of my house a couple hundred meters in the distance as her breathing got shallower. The girl's complexion was as pale as a ghost. I know understood how Stiles must have felt when he was forced to take care of me when I was shot by that hunter.

Suddenly my hearing caught her breathless whisper. Her voice was so quiet that a normal human wouldn't have been able to hear it.

"Karaline," she answered.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own anything except for Karaline and the plot.

Hi Guys! I'm so sorry it took this long to update. I'm on vacation in Chicago at the moment and couldn't get to a computer until now. Thank you for the reviews. Read, review, and enjoy! 3

It was bright outside when I had woken up for the fourth time. I had attempted to fall asleep on one of the old wooden chairs with my feet propped up about three hours ago, however my eyes always snapped open at the slight sound of shuffling from the couch. I looked over at the petite, brunette laid out on the dusty old couch next to me.

Last night, after she had fallen unconscious and I had stitched up all her cuts, I stood there staring at her for a long time – debating. I had done the right thing by make sure she didn't die, but what was I supposed to do after that? Being the isolated person that I am, I didn't want to deal with the girl when she woke up. Who knows what kind of hysteria or list of questions she had for me. I didn't have the time or patience for her. But it was then that I realized that I had forgotten she had been with the Alpha, meaning she must have seen something.

Questions raced through my mind for hours. Why had the Alpha attacked her? Was the Alpha planning to kill her? Does the girl know about werewolves? Had she seen me? Had she seen the Alpha in its human form? I knew that I couldn't simply throw the girl out so I agreed to keep an eye on her until she woke up. I would find out what she knew then let her go. Simple as that.

Suddenly I heard her pulse quicken followed by a gasp. I swifty stood up as I caught two blue eyes staring up at me from the couch.

"Who are you?" her high pitched voice said as she attempted to sit up.

"Be careful," I snapped as I reached out to push her back down, but I quickly took my hands back. "You have stitches in," I explained, pointing out her gauze wrapped forearm. The girl lifted her arm to inspect the damage as I eyed her carefully. To my surprise, she didn't appear frightened, hysterical, or in as much pain as I expected her to be – rather, she held a look of curiosity.

"Are you going to tell me who you are?" she repeated as she looked back up at me with her curious eyes.

I ignored her question. "Do you remember what happened?" I asked. The girl's eyes narrowed.

"You didn't answer me," she replied firmly. "I'm not saying anything until I know who you are." My jaw clenched as I felt my temper flickered. Patience definitely was not my strongest quality.

"My name is Derek Hale," I answered, annoyed. "Will you tell me what you remember now?" The girl sat up, ignoring my warning about her stitches.

"My name is Karaline Middleton," she replied in a casual voice.

"You already told me," I snapped impatiently. Our tones of voice were complete opposites. The girl rolled her eyes. "What happened?"

"Why should I tell you?" she tested, folding her arms. I glared down at her, surprised by her boldness.

"I saved your life," I declared firmly. She fell silent as her blue eyes drooped to the dusty floorboards. After a moment, I sighed impatiently.

"Will you please tell me what you remember?" I asked in a more polite voice. The girl kept quiet for a few more moments until she finally took a deep breath and looked up at me with soft, dark blue eyes.

"I don't remember anything," she whispered. I stared at her for a few moments. I wasn't sure if I was relieved or disappointed.

"Are you sure?" I questioned. "What's the last thing you remember doing?"

She scowled down at the ground for a minute before looking back up at me again. "I just remember walking around in the woods. Next thing I know, I was at the bottom of the hill trying to stay conscious," she explained. Karaline shrugged. "That's all I remember." I searched her face trying to find any signs of lying, but found none.

"You were in the woods by yourself?" I asked puzzled. She nodded. I frowned down at her. "That's a little stupid don't you think?"

"It was for school," she snapped defensively. My face twisted in confusion as Karaline huffed in frustration. "I go to school in the city," she began to explain. "I was in town and I figured that I'd get some homework out of the way for my photography class while I had free time. I guess I lost track of how far into the woods I was going once I started taking pictures."

"So you decided that it would be a good idea to go into the woods… by yourself… at night?" I asked somewhat sarcastically.

She looked away for a moment. "Well, yes," she said with regret shining in her eyes.

"Didn't anyone tell you about what's been going on around here?" I asked in a scolding tone. I rolled my eyes at her after she stared at me blankly. "It's dangerous out here. You need to be careful. Beacon Hills is not the perfect, little town that it once was."

Karaline stood up without hesitation. "Thank you for your concern but I can take care of myself," she sassed in her light voice. A growl grew in my throat. I had just met the girl _and_ saved her life, yet she was already crossing over to my bad side… but then again, everyone was on my bad side.

"There are…" I paused while trying to find the appropriate words, "animals out here that will eat you alive. You're lucky that I found you, or else you would be dead," I retaliated in my signature harsh tone. She winced at my bitter words while her eyes wandered away from me again.

"I'm sorry," she whispered so quietly that I almost missed it. Karaline was silent for a few moments. "And thank you," she added as she looked back up at me with sincere eyes. "Really. Thank you for saving me. I can't thank you enough," her little voice said. All I managed to do was nod.

We stood there for what seemed like a lifetime in awkward silence before she broke it. "I should go," she sang in her bubbly voice as she ran her hand through her hair. "My sister must be going crazy looking for me!" She stopped and shook her head as she stared out the window. "I really don't remember anything," she said in amazement.

"You most likely fell down the hill. It looked like you hit your head pretty hard," I suggested while trying to sound convincing. "You might want to get that checked out by a doctor."

"How did you find me?" she asked.

"I heard you scream and searched for you," I lied.

"Well thank you again," the girl smiled warmly at me but of course I didn't return. She turned back to the couch to grab her jacket which I had placed next to her. Suddenly she gasped.

"My camera!" her voice squeaked as she snatched it from the floor.

"I picked it up on the way back," I said.

"Thank you very much," she beamed. The girl was pretty energetic for someone who almost lost their life a few hours ago. Or maybe it was just the fact that I wasn't used to being around such bright energy.

"Thank God you found it! This camera is my life," Karaline's eyes were animated as she cradled the Nikon in her hands. It was then that my heart stopped, my body froze, and my mind went blank. As she looked over her shoulder at me, her hair slightly swung to reveal an unusual sight on the back of her neck. Karaline quickly fell quiet as she caught my hardened expression once she turned around. I crept closer to get a better look.

"What's wrong? What are you looking at?" she asked starting to get frantic.

"Don't move," I stated sharply. Slowly, I stepped closer to her, pleading inside that what I was looking at wasn't what I thought it was. _No, it can't be_, I thought.

"Fuck," I spat out. But before I could get a closer look at her neck, my vision shook violently. Suddenly my breathing quickened and my body began to quiver. Karaline ignored me and ran over to the broken mirror on the wall across the room. My ears began to ring as my heart continued to beat faster. Faintly, I heard a gasp come from the other side of the room followed by sobbing. "No, no, no," Karaline repeated hysterically as she stared at the mirror eyeing four shallow marks following the shape of a crest on her neck.

"Is it what I think it – " Karaline began to say before she turned around towards me.

"Derek?" I heard faintly. "Are you okay?" My hearing was muffled.

My heavy breathing began to turn into uncontrollable growls as I tried to gather every ounce of energy to stop my body from transforming in failure ─ I fell to my knees as the beast inside of me began to take over.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Wolf except for Karaline.

Hi Guys! Okay, I'm on my way back from Chi-Town… somewhere in the middle of Nebraska… stuck in a thunderstorm with my family… waiting it out in a gas station. I still had time to write here and there while I was in Chicago on vacation, so I finished up this chapter while I was on the road and have another one coming up soon. I just need to catch up on some sleep first. I just want to point out that I will not always follow the "rules" of the actual show. For example, Derek not being able to control himself from transforming, compared to the show where he has full control. Why? Because it makes the story better ;) Read, review and enjoy, my loves!

_**Karaline's Point of View**_

My body started to go numb as I stared at the marks on my neck. I twisted my upper body to try and get a better view of what exactly I was looking at ─ though it looked like a bite mark… I wasn't completely sure. Compared to the werewolf bite marks I had seen in books from my research, the four small incisions on my neck were more shallow and disfigured.

_Relax, Karaline. They aren't bite marks. _I tried to convince myself. However, my heart started to zoom while my breathing turned into gasps ─ quickly those gasps turned into sobs.

"No, no, no!" I cried out uncontrollably as my vision blurred by the tears rolling down my cheeks. _This can't be happening. Not me. Please, please! It can't be. _My mind went crazy and I had completely forgotten that I wasn't alone in the room. I whipped around towards the man who saved me.

"Is it what I think-" I stopped mid-sentence as I stared down at the hunched over man with his head down a few feet away from me. He was panting as I heard him curse under his breath. His body was quivering and his hands were balled into fists.

"Derek?" I asked in a shaky voice. "Are you okay?" Obviously he wasn't. No answer.

By now I had completely forgotten about my own crisis. It looked as if he was having some sort of panic attack. I didn't dare go near him, instead I quickly scanned the room in search of anything that would be helpful. The room was old and dusty to say the least, and the only source of light was from the sun. The windows across the creaking floorboards were clouded with dirt and cracked. Next to the torn-up blue couch was a piano ─ its white paint peeling off severely ─ and on top a small, black bucket. In a split second I had the bucket in my arms and managed to find my way around the dark, gloomy house to the kitchen sink. While I frantically waited for the bucket to fill up, I could hear Derek's panting start to turn into what sounded like growls.

I started to panick. _What is going on with this guy? Is he weak at the sight of blood? Is it a health issue? Maybe he's having an asthma attack? Is there an inhaler around here? Should I call 911?_

I ran back into the room in which Derek was now on his knees and without hesitation I emptied the bucket of water onto him. I winced for a moment.

The growling stopped along with the shaking. Derek was still on his knees hunched over, but now it sounded like he was trying to catch his breath. His body was turned away from me and his head still hung low, but he seemed back in control.

I hesitated for a second before speaking. "D-Derek?" I asked, my voice quivering. He was soaking wet and there was a puddle surrounding him on the floor.

"How did I lose control like that?" he mumbled so softly under his breath that I almost missed it. I wasn't even sure if he was talking to me or himself.

"What was that?" I asked. Derek stood up slowly with his back still facing me. He was quiet. After a few seconds he turned towards me with unreadable eyes. But it was then that it finally hit me.

All those nights researching through the internet and books about werewolves ─ full moons, bite marks, appearance, Alphas, Betas… transformation. Suddenly it all came back to me as I connected the dots ─ I recalled what I had read about werewolf transformation from human form and what I had just witnessed in front of me not even a minute ago. The panting, the uncontrollable shaking, the growling…

"You're the wolf," I whispered. I gulped as I started backing away from him slowly. Derek's eyes widened.

"What did you say?" he asked, glowering down at me. I caught a hint of surprise in his voice. My heart started to race again and my body shook with fear.

"You bit me! Why did you ─ You're the one who tried to kill me!" my voice escalated. I didn't bother trying to control my tone from becoming hysterical. I quickly scanned left and right to try and find a way out.

"What did you mean by wolf?" he called back.

"You know exactly what I mean! I know what you are!" I screamed. My back touched the wall across the room from him. I blinked back my tears unsuccessfully and my ears began to ring as fear started to overwhelm me. Derek stood at his place, not moving. I closed my eyes preparing for my next request. "Just kill me. I don't want to be one of you," I said in a more steady voice. He didn't reply for a moment while I held my breath.

"I'm not going to kill you," he finally replied in a controlled tone. My eyes snapped open in anger.

"Then I refuse to be a part of your pack, if that's why you're keeping me alive," I cried out. His eyebrows pulled together in frustration.

"I didn't bite you."

The ringing in my ears stopped. My heart somewhat slowed and I gained back control of my breathing. I stared at Derek with disbelief, unsure of what I just heard as he stared back with serious eyes.

"What?"

Derek rolled his eyes. "I did not bite you," he said slowly, emphasizing each word. This time my eyebrows pulled together in doubt.

Derek huffed in frustration and scowled at me. "I already have one newborn werewolf that I have to take care of and I sure as hell don't need another one. Besides, if I wanted to kill you then I would have done it by now."

I looked away for a moment, still doubtful. "If you didn't bite me, then who did?"

After a lot of hesitation and even more questions concerning my trust in him to not kill me, I let Derek inspect the bite mark on my neck.

"Well?" I asked impatiently.

"I'm not sure," he said frustrated. "It could be a bite or claw marks," Derek replied as he analyzed the wounds closely.

"So what's going to happen to me?" I turned around and folded my arms as I looked up at the tall man in front of me.

"We wait for the full moon."

"Which is when?" I asked.

"A week from now," his jaw clenched. "Meaning, I need to keep an eye on you until then. I'm not taking any chances this time." He mumbled the last part to himself.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"_If_ you're a newborn werewolf," he began, "then you're most likely going to have some anger issues. And if you lose control of your temper, you're going to be in deep shit."

I looked at him confused. "_If_ I am a newborn werewolf," I mocked, "then wouldn't I find out the night of the full moon?"

"That's not always the case," he replied. I could hear the frustration in his voice starting to bubble.

"So what's going to happen? Are you going to follow me around for the week? Or do you need me to check in with you everyday?" I asked still not sure where he was going with all of this.

His expression hardened. "No. You cannot be around other people," Derek clenched his jaw again followed by an intake of a deep breath. "You're staying with me until the full moon."


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Wolf.

Hi Guys! I am back home and yes DanaIsis, you're city is amazing! I had so much fun in Chicago This is a short little chapter. Next chapter will be up sometime later today. Read, review and enjoy!

• • • • • • • • •

_**Derek's Point of View**_

After I had finally led Karaline upstairs into the only bedroom in the house that wasn't completely destroyed, _my room_, I sunk down into the old, blue couch and buried my head in my hands. She was a handful to say the least. After arguing with her for over an hour and several failed negotiation attempts on her part, Karaline finally agreed to let me watch over her until the full moon. It amazed me how the girl kept throwing out new excuses at me. It was a gift.

• • •

"I can't miss class!" she disputed.

"And I don't care," I replied.

"So I'm just supposed to stay locked in here for the next week? That's your genius plan?" she asked, placing a hand on her hip.

"Actually, yes. Unless you prefer taking the risk of accidentally transforming into wolf form and then holding the responsibility of the deaths of your classmates," I asked rhetorically. Karaline shifted her weight and folded her arms in defeat as I stared her down waiting for an answer. "I didn't think so. Look," I sighed, "I don't want to do this more than you probably don't, but this town has seen too much. This wolf has caused a lot of trouble and turned a lot of heads in our direction the past few months. We don't need anymore attention from Beacon Hills."

"Our? We? So you're admitting that you're a werewolf?"she raised her eyebrows, catching me off guard. I blinked.

"No," I stated, trying my best to keep a blank face.

"Fine, I won't force you to admit it until you want to," she shrugged with a hint of annoyance in her voice. "But I _know_," she smirked.

Just as I was about to open my mouth to question her on her last remark, she cut me off. "What about my sister, Kaylen? She's going to worry about me if I don't call to check in with her," she said. I let out a sign of annoyance as I clenched my jaw.

"Then call her!" I replied.

Karaline leaned forward and squinted up at me. "With what phone?" she sassed. My mouth hardened into a line as I reached into my back pocket and tossed my iPhone at her. She looked down at the phone and smiled slyly. She had the face of angelic innocence, yet I was starting to see the evil lying beneath it.

"Anymore questions?" I responded disapprovingly.

Karaline looked up at me. "What about my clothes? Toothbrush?"

I closed my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose. "You have got to be kidding me."

• • •

Thought I know Karaline didn't want to stay locked in my old house for a week just like any other person, she knew why it was necessary. After dealing with Scott and seeing him nearly lose control while in public several times, I knew I couldn't take the same risk by letting another newborn run around town again. Though Scott was, for the most part, free to go about his life, I still had to keep an eye on him just to make sure he had his temper under control. If it wasn't for his little friend… Miles?... I would have probably had to lock Scott up somewhere, too. But as Karaline continued to talk and throw excuses at me, I started to regret my decision.

However it surprised me that the girl didn't show any fear. She was faced with the possibility of turning into a werewolf for Christ's sake. A fucking werewolf! I knew she was scared, but she hid her feelings damn well. I actually found it amusing that she was more worried about missing school more than possibly getting bit by a wolf and being held hostage by another.

One week. I could survive seven days with a talkative, college girl. Right? However, she wasn't just any random college student — she knew something.

"I know what you are!" her words rung in my head. To say that she surprised the shit out of me when she accused me of biting her is an understatement. What did she know about werewolves? How did she find out? Why was she _really_ in the woods last night? I had already ruled out the possibility that she was a hunter. No hunter would be stupid enough to go weaponless or be in the woods themselves, sadly. Had she seen me shape-shift?

Shit! I had forgotten about my little transformation episode earlier when I had seen the supposed bite mark on Karaline's neck. I couldn't remember the last time I had lost control of my body like that. When I saw the cuts on her neck, the only thing I could think about was the Alpha. Another life was almost claimed because of that fucker. But the part that really made my blood boil was that another life had almost been taken for no obvious reason, if there was a reason at all. The list of Beacon Hills deaths was growing and all these lives were being claimed in vain. It was then that I lost control and started to transform — but then out of nowhere a shock ran through my body. Suddenly I was back in control quicker than I had lost control as my vision cleared up and I stared down at a puddle of water.

It was going to be a long week. Not only did I hold the responsibility of watching out for the girl, but I also needed to take care of myself. The girl claimed that she knew what I was, however I knew that I had to play it off as long as I could. Indeed it was strange of me to lose control like I had earlier, to say the least, and now I had to make sure it would never happen again.

My head throbbed as I leaned back against the couch, my bed for the next week, and closed my eyes.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Wolf, just Karaline and the plot.

Hi Guys! I haven't got the entire plot 100% worked out right now, but I do have an idea of where I want this story to go… So while I'm working on it, I'd like to know what are some things that you guys would like to see happen in the story? Let me know! (: I had fun writing this chapter. Enjoy, my loves!

***Check out the Redemption Photobucket page where I have put up banners and all that fun stuff for this story. .com/albums/l543/ImLikeMonica/

_**Derek's Point of View:**_

I had gotten a decent couple hours of sleep before I woke up to clattering in the kitchen.

"God damn it," I grumbled. I pushed up off of the couch and quickly made my way to the kitchen to find no one other than Karaline. "What the hell are you doing?"

Karaline's head snapped up from the drawer that she was rummaging through as she stared up at me with wide eyes like a deer caught in the headlights. "Um. I'm cooking. Is that okay?" she asked hesitantly. I eyed her for a moment.

"No," I declared. Karaline's eyebrows rose.

"Too bad," she shrugged. I clenched my jaw as I watched her move through the cupboards as if she had lived here for years. "I was hungry so I cooked some pasta that I found." She glided towards the cabinet across the room and held up a plate towards my direction. "Are you hungry?" she asked. I didn't reply. But now that she brought it up, I realized that I hadn't eaten in over 24 hours as my mouth watered at the aroma of pasta wafting through the kitchen.

Karaline answered her own question. "Yes, you are," she said as she filled two plates full of fettuccini alfredo before moving to the small dinner table to set them down. Karaline sat down and picked up her fork before she turned to me across the room, still standing and staring at her in disapproval. I wasn't used to people being in my house, let alone staying and cooking in it. Even when Laura was alive, she had her own place and preferred that _I_ visit _her_ since the house creeped her out.

"Do werewolves not eat?" she asked amused. Karaline tilted her head. "Come on, Derek. Just sit down. I can't finish this all on my own," she added in her little voice. She smiled at me with her innocent eyes just as my stomach growled on cue as if it wanted me to give in. _God damn it. _I sighed in defeat as I sat down in the chair across from the girl – faintly I heard Karaline chuckle as I picked up my fork to begin eating in silence. After a few bites I had to admit, the pasta was delicious.

"You know, your interior designing in here is pretty interesting," she said suddenly, as she scanned the kitchen. I looked up at her from my plate then around at the room. Though I didn't appreciate her expressing her opinion, it was true - the room was a bit unusual. The paint peeling off every cupboard and drawer along with the dark walls of the old room contrasted oddly with the brand new, stainless steel kitchen appliances. Though I loved my house just the way it was with its broken stove and faulty refrigerator, I got tired of eating fast food every night, so I had no choice but to fix up the kitchen.

"_I_ like it," I shrugged. I could feel the girl's eyes on me as I continued to eat.

"Do all werewolves live in houses like this?" she asked curiously.

"Like what?" I responded sharply.

"You know," she eyed the room awkwardly. "Dark, gloom–"

"Is there something wrong with my house?" I questioned defensively as I looked up from my plate. Karaline's eyed widened for a moment at my sudden change of tone.

"Well, no but," she hesitated. "It just kind of creeps me out," Karaline winced. I rolled my eyes as I took another bite of my pasta. But for a second my heart throbbed – her remark reminded me of Laura. The last time I actually had a meal with someone like this was when my sister had been alive.

Karaline continued. "How old are you?" she asked. However, I had already had enough of her questions. I set my fork down, sat straight in my chair, and scowled at the girl sitting across from me.

"Okay since this has become 21 questions, let me take my turn," I replied harshly. Karaline raised her eyebrows, caught off guard by my tone. "How do you know about werewolves?"

The girl looked down at her plate and fiddled with the fork nervously. No answer. "You're going to have to tell me sometime. I need to know," I stated. Karaline continued to avoid my gaze as she pushed around some pasta across her plate. Still no answer.

"Well?" I pushed, starting to become more frustrated. Finally, she looked up at me with hesitant eyes and took a deep breath. I waited.

"I've seen the wolf before," her little voice said. "When my parents first moved to Beacon Hills a year ago, I thought I'd go explore the town. I ended up walking through the woods and that's when I saw it. I noticed its eyes first and I froze, scared to death – it wasn't like any other wolf I had ever seen. It was about thirty feet away, just staring me down. I started counting down the seconds until I would die… But then it just turned around and ran off. It just left!" Karaline shook her head in disbelief.

"After that, I thought about it for a long time and I figured that maybe its looks were deceiving – I thought that it wasn't really harmful since it didn't attack me or anything," she paused. "But then my mom started telling me about the killing spree by the supposed mountain lion and I immediately thought of the wolf. That's when I started researching. I spent months looking up every kind of wolf in books, the internet, movies, but I found nothing. But eventually one book led me to urban legends about wolves, which ofcourse led me to the topic of werewolves."

"At first, I thought it was all BS. But then I came across a drawing of a werewolf in a book and I knew - those glowing eyes are unmistakable." Karaline fell quiet, trying to read my face.

"What were you doing in the woods yesterday?" I asked. Suddenly her brown eyes drifted down and her cheeks turned red.

"I don't know what I was thinking," she said quietly as she shook her head. "I'm supposed to be in town to check on my parents house while they're away and my curiosity took over last night. I wanted to get another glimpse of the wolf, so I took my camera and headed out. I was so stupid. Now I'm facing actually turning into –" her voice cracked as she began to cry softly. _Shit, _I thought. _Why? Why did she have to start crying?_

_ "_You still have a chance," I said attempting to comfort her. Out of all people, I was definitely last on the list of people who you would want to try and make you feel better. Karaline wiped her tears and looked up at me.

"It was just so stupid of me to think that I could protect myself from that monster. I'll never be able to see my parents, my sister, my niece… I'm such an idiot" Karaline blinked back her tears.

"Don't think about that. Don't jump to conclusions. Let's just wait," I said.

_**Karaline's Point of View:**_

I looked up at the man in front of me as he stared at me with his beautiful green-gray eyes. For once, he wasn't scowling at me – instead he looked concerned. It was the first time that I had actually been able to look at him – no arguments, no anger to stop me from studying his gorgeous face. Suddenly I felt self conscious as I dropped my gaze to the table. I cleared my throat.

"I'm sorry that I'm putting you through all of this. I know that I can be a difficult," I said. "And thank you for letting me take your room." I wasn't sure, but I think I faintly heard Derek chuckle.

"I've been through worse," he said with a hint of a smile on his face. Maybe this guy _was _capable of being happy. We both fell silent for a few moments.

"I'm gonna go upstairs," I said as I started to get up out of my seat. "My head is killing me and I'm pretty tired."

"Wait," Derek swiftly stood up and made his way to one of the cupboards to grab something. "Take two," he said, handing me a bottle of aspirin.

"Thanks," I smiled up at him before turning to walk out of the kitchen.

"Goodnight, Karaline," he nodded. It was the first time that he had actually said my name and strangely… it sounded nice.

I twisted slightly to peek at him over my shoulder. "Goodnight, Derek."


	6. Chapter 6

Hi Guys! This chapter was fun for me to write, but at the same time pretty tough because I had so many ideas however I didn't know how to organize and put it all together. I do take time to carefully plan out every chapter because I want this story to actually have meaning, make sense, and keep all of you interested. Thank you for your support so far! (: Read, review, and enjoy.

Also please check out my Photobucket page for this story where you can find character banners and all that fun stuff! (: http : / s1123 .photobucket . com/albums/l543/ImLikeMonica/

"God damn it, Karaline! Open the fucking door!" I screamed as I banged on it with my fists. Suddenly I was reminded of yesterday when she had yet again been in the bathroom for over an hour. Did she think that werewolves don't take showers? This was the only bathroom in the house… that worked.

"Wait, I'm almost ready," I heard her muffled voice on the other side along with some shuffling. I felt the fire grow inside of me as a growl rumbled in my throat.

"If your ass isn't in the car in the next two minutes, then you're going to be stuck wearing the same clothes with no toothbrush for the rest of the week!" I threatened.

"Okay!" she called back in her high pitched voice. "I'm done," the girl said just as she finally opened the door. I rolled my eyes as I turned to head downstairs to the car. I could sense that today was going to be a tough one.

• •

_ "You have _one_ hour,"_ I remembered saying in the car… three hours ago. After constant aggravation from her complaints about not having any clean clothes or toiletries, I had agreed to take Karaline shopping at Madison Street where there were small stores and clothing boutiques. I made sure that we arrived early in the morning when no one except employees were around so I could keep a close eye on her. Of course I had strongly refused to take the girl out in public at first, but after realizing that her complaining would only worsen with every passing hour for the next five days, I made an exception.

I sat there staring at the shopping bags on the floor in front of me as I leaned against a mannequin. I had lost track of how many stores we had been to since Karaline always had an excuse to tag me along to the store next door. The girl never stopped.

"Karaline," I groaned, "_Let's go_," I declared for the fourth time. I heard shuffling come from the dressing room across from me.

"Okay, hold on," she called out in her little voice. My head snapped up as a growl grew in my throat. I only ask a question politely once.

"Get your ass out here _now,"_ I warned, carefully controlling the volume of my voice so that I wouldn't scare the sales lady at the front of the store.

"Alright! Calm down," Karaline replied. A few seconds later she emerged from the dressing room with a pile of clothes in her arm. "I'm done," she smiled, satisfied. I glared at her.

"Are you trying to take advantage of me?" I asked eyeing the pile. "This is not a shopping spree. You do not need all of those clothes."

"Do you know how cold it gets in your house?" she asked, placing a hand on her hip. "It's winter!" I took in a deep breath, trying to calm myself as my blood began to boil.

I stood up stiffly and took out my wallet. I was in no mood to argue. I don't think I even had anymore argument left in me. She was fucking unbelievable. "Hurry," I growled, as I handed her the credit card, painfully. She stared up at me with her innocent eyes and an apologetic smile.

"Thank you," she squeaked. I turned on my heels and grabbed all the shopping bags on the floor before heading to the car outside. I was sure this girl's mission was to clear my bank account.

• •

_**Karaline's Point of View**_

"Thank you!" I said as I took the card from Derek. I turned towards the cashier with the stack of clothes in my arms as he headed to the car. After going through a couple stores, I had finally found a place that had decent clothes that actually fit me. Though I was extremely happy to be out of the house, I felt pretty guilty. It was bad enough that Derek had to take me shopping _and_ pay for it since I didn't have my wallet with me, but I could also see that he was very uncomfortable with me being out in public just in case something happened. Though there were no customers around since it was so early, Derek was on high alert while watching me.

With Derek's exit, the bell on the entrance door rung just as I reached the cashier. She was a tall, slim woman with long blond hair and gorgeous features. She was probably only a couple years older than me. It didn't look right for her to be standing behind a register since she looked like she belonged on a runway. Intimidated, I was.

"Did you find everything okay?" she smiled at me with her perfect teeth as she began to scan my items.

"Yes, thank you," I smiled back. I could feel my self-confidence dwindling down as I continued to gawk at her flawlessness. We were silent for a moment as she continued to scan.

"Is he your boyfriend?" she asked suddenly. I looked up at her with wide eyes unsure of who she was speaking to, even though I was well aware that I was the only one in the store.

"I'm sorry?" I asked.

"Is that guy that was just in here your boyfriend?" she questioned again as she nodded towards the front of the store. I looked out the windows of the storefront to where she was staring, to find Derek getting into the car parked directly outside. I unintentionally let out a sigh. The man looked like a model with his leather jacket and black Camaro. Though he had some temper issues and wasn't exactly the nicest person, Derek definitely got an A-plus in the looks department – the man was gorgeous.

"Um, no,"I mumbled, shaking my head. The woman looked up at me with bright eyes.

"Oh?" she said with a smile playing at her lips. "Is he your friend?"

I hesitated for a moment, unsure of how to answer. "He's my bodyguard," I lied, however, to some extent it was true. I ignored the woman's reaction. I swiped Derek's card as the woman began typing on the register and bagging all the items before turning away from the desk for a moment. When she turned back, she handed me my bags along with a piece of paper in her other hand.

"If you don't mind giving this to him?" she requested with a smile. I stared at the piece of paper in her hand for a moment as I grabbed my bags from the other. Was she really doing what I think she was doing? Slowly I reached up, took the paper from her and unfolded it. Suddenly my jaw hardened as I felt my blood boil inside.

I looked up at the girl with a smirk. "Ofcourse I will, _Cassidy,"_ I said as I refolded the piece of paper with her name and number on it. She stared at me with excitement in her eyes.

"Yay!" she replied, looking as if she was going to start jumping up and down. _What a bitch,_ I thought asI smiled as her slyly before turning to head out the door. I could feel Derek's eyes on me as I stepped outside and tossed the crumpled paper into the trash can by the entrance. My head began to gently throb in what seemed like anger and suddenly my heart started to quicken – to my surprise, a moment later, Derek was at my side with panic in his eyes.

"Calm down, Karaline," he said trying to hide the alertness in his voice. I looked up at him in with my eyebrows pulled together.

"What are you talking about? I'm fine, Derek," I lied. A scowl started to form on his face.

"I heard your heart beat increase," he stated. I looked away from him. I had completely forgotten about his extra hearing abilities. "What happened in there? What did she say to you?" he asked.

"Nothi-"

"Karaline?" I heard someone call out my name abruptly. I turned around to see who had interrupted me. Suddenly my mouth fell open as I stared in disbelief at the person standing in front of me.

"Scott?"


	7. Chapter 7

**Hi Guys! So this is my little vent session on Teen Wolf… I actually like the whole Kate/Derek relationship thing… I feel like they have some past romantic kind of tie… like in high school or something. Kate's a bitch, but I feel like she wasn't always that way. Hm, maybe I'll do a one shot on them. Jackson has also caught my eye ;) He's gorgeous. And am I the only one who kind of has a crush on Stiles? … ANYWAYS. This chapter was tough to write, which is why it took me a while to post. But here it is. BUT before you read, I have a few questions. **

_**First**_**, does anyone know what state the story takes place in OR what state you think it takes place in? **

_**Second**_**, what actress do you imagine Karaline to look like? **

**Thanks! (: Enjoy, my loves!**

• •

"Scott!" Karaline squealed as she ran up and wound him in a tight hug. I stood there staring in disbelief.

"Karaline, what are you doing here? I haven't seen you for months! Why didn't you call me?" he grinned down at petite girl.

"I'm here in town for a couple days," she replied with excitement in her eyes. "How have you been? You look so handsome!" she said. For some strange reason, I started to feel a little heated.

Scott blushed. "A compliment coming from the prettiest girl I know? Thanks!" he laughed. I had never seen this bubbly side of Scott before – the kid had a sort of sparkle in his eye. Was it because of Karaline? I looked down at the girl and noticed that she, too, had an enlightened expression on her face as she smiled up at Scott. Again, I felt the heat flicker inside of me. Scott continued, "I've been good, though. Busy with school, lacrosse… and stuff. What about you? Aren't you graduating this year?" he asked. He was so caught up in talking to Karaline that he hadn't noticed that I was standing right next to him.

"Yeah! I'm pretty excit-" Karaline began to say.

"Excuse me," I interrupted suddenly with my voice soaking in annoyance. "Would someone like to explain to me what's going on here?" Both of them turned to me at once and within a second, Scott's eyes abruptly flooded with rage.

"What the hell are you doing with him, Karaline?" Scott bellowed. The girl jumped back at the sudden change in his voice. That smile on his face from a moment ago was completely gone by now and I felt pride in the fact that it was because of me. "Why is he here?" he spat out with fire flickering in his eyes. I rolled my eyes at him. It was so typical of Scott to freak out whenever I popped up.

"Wait, you know Derek?" Karaline asked, completely taken aback by his reaction to seeing me. "How?"

Suddenly a flash of panic ran through me.

"No, the question is, how do _you two_ know each other?" I asked, trying to redirect the attention elsewhere besides Scott and I.

"Woah! _I_ want to know how _you two_ know each other!" Scott demanded back, pointing between Karaline and I. Scott's angered face washed out with what looked like concern all of a sudden. "Karaline, please don't tell me your dating this guy." In my head I smirked at Scott's jealousy playing out in front of me.

Karaline rolled her eyes. "No, Scott," she muttered.

"Good! Because he's dangerous, Karaline! You shouldn't trust him!" he barked.

"Will one of you tell me how the hell you two know each other!" I bellowed – it wasn't a question, it was an order. Scott fell silent as he narrowed his eyes at me.

"He's my cousin, Derek," Karaline spoke.

I blinked a few times. "Wait, what?" I was caught off guard. _Cousin_?

"Scott is my cousin," she repeated slower. "We grew up together." I glanced between the two of them in disbelief, but I started seeing the resemblance – they had the same brown hair, same brown eyes, however, the girl had lighter skin. I started to feel stupid for thinking that Scott liked Karaline earlier - now my shock had faded to disappointment.

"Seriously," I said with chagrin washing over my face. "Out of all people in Beacon Hills… _Scott_ has to be your cousin?" I asked rhetorically, shaking my head in disbelief.

"Is there something wrong with that?" Scott asked defensively, starting to step closer to me. I guess this boy still hadn't learned his lesson from the last time I kicked his ass when he showed up to my house unannounced. I glared down at the kid.

"Scott! _Do not_ start this again with m-" I began to say.

"Alright!" the girl shrieked abruptly. Scott and I surprisingly fell silent at her command, but continued to glare at each other as she stared back and forth between the two of us. Thankfully, Madison Street was still empty so no one was around to witness our little argument. Karaline took a deep breath. "Will one of you please tell me how you know each other? I'm just a little bit confused at the moment," she said sarcastically. She waited – however neither of us answered. It wasn't because we were too heated to talk, it was because we had no idea how to answer the girl. I knew that Karaline didn't know about Scott being a werewolf, or at least I thought so, and I knew Scott didn't know that Karaline knew about werewolves. The girl huffed in frustration. "Scott?" she called him out. He quickly glanced between Karaline and I in hesitation with his body tensed. His eyes grew uneasy while I noticed him give me a look that no longer held anger, but now it was panic.

"Well," Scott stuttered, "First I want to know how you and Derek know each other," he stalled while glancing between the two of us. I could feel Karaline stare at me in a moment of distress as _she _ began to panic. I knew she was waiting me for to answer for her. My head began to throb in frustration as I found myself caught trying to create lies for the three of us.

"This isn't the place to talk about this," I said attempting to give myself more time to figure out how I wanted to go about the situation on hand. I could still feel Karaline's eyes on me. "Get in the car. Both of you," I ordered before turning away. She didn't ask questions as she followed me to the car, playing along.

"Why should I-" Scott began to protest.

"Scott!" Karaline and I scolded in unison as we sent glares over our shoulders at him.

Scott huffed in frustration while rolling his eyes at us and heading towards the passenger side of the Camaro in obedience, getting the message that he really had no more argument to convey. I guess stubbornness ran in the family.

"Wait!" he stopped just after opening the door – Karaline and I turned our heads towards him waiting to hear what else the boy had to say. I was just about ready to throw the kid in the car myself. Suddenly Scott's face twisted in despair, "God damnit, Karaline, _please_ don't tell me you're pregnant!"

I rolled his eyes and slid into the driver's seat just before slamming the car door shut. Karaline continued to stand outside glaring at her cousin in a way that would even scare me. A moment later, she spoke. "_Get. In. The car."_

• • •

The car was silent for a couple minutes as I recollected my thoughts while I drove back to the house. I knew that there were certain things that I wanted to keep from the both of them and other things that needed to be said. I kept my eyes on the road as I began to speak.

"Before I tell you what I need to tell you, Scott, you need to promise that you will control yourself," I shot a warning look at him through my rear view mirror as Karaline turned her head in my direction. I ignored her, however I was able to sense her concern as to where I was going with this. Scott nodded at me, signaling me to continue. I took a deep breath, bracing myself for the reaction that would come from what I was about to say.

"Karaline was attacked."

"WHAT!"Scott screamed. Karaline's eyes bulged as she whipped her head around at me.

"Derek what are you doing!" she cried out.

I ignored her. "It was the Alpha," I said to Scott.

"THE ALPHA?" he yelled again. I quickly sent Scott a glare through the mirror telling him to cool down as his eyes were mixed with fear and anger.

"Karaline, w-what happened? Are you hurt?" Scott asked almost climbing into the front seat with her trying to exam any injuries. The girl glanced between the two of us in a fit of confusion.

"Wait, _you know_ about wolves?" Karaline asked Scott, her voice heightened before turning to me. "Why didn't you tell me that he knew, Derek?" I shot a warning look at Scott told him not to say too much to the girl – he nodded at me in comprehension without Karaline noticing.

"Yes, Karaline. I know about wolves," he answered in a controlled voice. The girl stared at him, speechless as I pulled up to the house, turned off the car, and opened the door. But just as I stepped out of the car, I froze.

I stared up at the old house – something wasn't right. Faintly I heard Scott climb out from the back of the car, behind me.

"Karaline, stay in the car," I called out over my shoulder before locking the doors. She nodded at me as fear washed over her face.

"What's wrong?" Scott said just as he knew we were safe to talk. I started slowly walking through the entrance of the house while he followed behind.

"I don't know," I said mindlessly as I wandered through the front of the house. I could feel Scott eyeing me, trying to figure out what I was looking for.

"Why didn't you want me to tell her that I'm a werewolf?" I heard Scott ask from the living room as I stepped into the kitchen – suddenly I froze. It was there that the scent was just strong enough for my senses to finally pick it up. I flashed back to the night that I found the girl with the Alpha – though it was a very faint scent, I recognized it._ It had been here._

Abruptly, I bolted past Scott who was staring at me in concern as he saw the alarm on my face. "What's going on?" he called out, following behind me through the house. I leaped over the porch steps and opened the door to the Camaro within a split second.

"Derek, what's wrong?" Karaline asked, with panic growing in her voice. I slammed the door beside me and rolled down the window to talk to Scott who was standing in disbelief that I had just locked him out of the car.

"You can't follow me," I said. "The Alpha will know where we are," the words were coming out swiftly.

"Why are you leaving? And where are you going?" he questioned, looking over at his cousin in the passenger seat in concern.

"To the only place that's safe for Karaline," I answered, honestly. I clenched my jaw and my grip on the steering wheel tightened as I put the car in drive. My foot suddenly felt heavy on the pedal. "He found us, Scott. The Alpha was here."


	8. Chapter 8

**Hi Guys! I asked everyone last time what celebrity they imagined Karaline to look like and in my mind I feel like Miranda Kerr fits her perfectly. Check out my Photobucket page for banners for this story. I just put up new ones of Miranda Kerr as Karaline (: **

http : / s1123. Photobucket . com/albums/l543/ImLikeMonica/

**A lot of people have told me that the show takes place in California, and since woods/trees are very prominent in Teen Wolf, I'm going to make my story will take place in Northern California near Sacramento. If you've been to Northern Cali then you should know that that is where the forests and stuff like that are mostly located within California.**

**Thanks, guys! Read, review, and enjoy!**

** • •**

I stared out the windshield as my body began to shake.

The Alpha had come for me, it had come for its new pack member. Derek was wrong - I was bitten. Now it was only a matter of time before the wolf would take me.

"Calm down, Karaline," Derek said. His voice was calm but his driving was not – the speedometer read 100 mph and climbing as we raced out of the woods and onto the streets. I ignored him. "_Karaline_," he called out a little louder.

I turned my head to him abruptly. "How can I calm down, Derek?" I snarled. I shook my head and looked out my window, fighting back the tears, unsuccessfully. "I know he's out there waiting for the right moment to take me. He _will_ get me somehow."

I could feel Derek tense up beside me. "No, he won't," he stated firmly.

"How do you know that, Derek?" I asked starting to get angry as I turned to face him. The tears started to overflow at that moment. My usual optimism was nowhere in sight at the moment. "I'm scared," I whispered.

"I will protect you, as well as Scott," he responded. I turned to see him look back at me with intent eyes. I stared at him for a moment studying his face when he returned his eyes back to the road. I didn't question his words because, even with my cousins warning, surprisingly I trusted Derek. He was a werewolf and I'm sure very dangerous just like Scott said, but the man saved my life and he had done nothing wrong to make me think that he shouldn't be trust – so far. We were quiet for a few minutes as Derek continued to drive. We had exited the suburbs by now and the buildings grew taller as we zoomed past them. Derek's driving was insane and pretty frightening.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"We can't go back to the house anymore."

"Then where are we supposed to go?" I looked out my window again. I had never been to this part of town, but I had no doubt that we were in the "city" part of Beacon Hills. It was crazy to see how different the two parts of Beacon Hills were. Though the buildings weren't exactly skyscrapers, a couple of them stood about twenty stories tall. The area was a mix of corporate and residential buildings with some people running around in suits and some people walking their dogs while on every block there was some sort of coffee shop or restaurant. This part of Hills was definitely a lot busier and also quite charming. Suddenly Derek finally slowed the car and turned into an underground parking garage underneath one of the tall buildings.

"Where are we, Derek?" I repeated as he pulled into a parking space.

"You'll be safer here," he said as he locked the car after we got out. I followed behind him through the parking garage and into an elevator.

He pushed the last button, indicating the 20th floor. "In a corporate building?" I asked sarcastically. How would I be safer in an office? He rolled his eyes at me and within 30 seconds, the elevator doors opened to reveal the complete opposite of what I was expecting.

I followed Derek as we stepped out into a small circular room with silver-painted walls, white wooden accents, a marble floor, crystal chandelier, and mahogany-stained double doors. I stood behind Derek, admiring the beautiful room as he pulled out a set of keys, unlocked the two doors, and stepped aside to allow me to enter. Suddenly, my jaw dropped.

The large rectangular room that I found myself self standing in had resemblance the small room with its dark hardwood floor, grey-painted walls, and white wood trimmings. To the left was a kitchen with black cabinets lining the walls, marble counter tops, and stainless steel appliances and accents. Next to it was a black dining table fit for four with floor to ceiling windows wrapping around part of it. To the right side was the living room, which was elevated a step lower than the kitchen and dining. It was made up of a large white, L-shaped couch surrounding a matching white coffee table with a fireplace off in the corner. Across the couch lay a giant plasma screen television and of course complete with an Xbox, PlayStation, a shelf of video games, and surround sound system. To finish off, the floor to ceiling windows surrounding the entire far side of the room opened up to give the most gorgeous view of Beacon Hills that I never knew existed.

I stood there gawking at the place. I would say that it was a typical bachelor pad, except that it looked like it was straight out of an interior design magazine.

"Let me show you to your room," he said suddenly. I spun around to look at Derek completely confused and not sure if I had just heard him correctly.

"Wait. What? We're staying here? Whose place is this?" I gazed around the room again in awe.

"It's mine," he replied casually. I shook my head in disbelief.

"Wait. But," I stuttered. "Your house? The one we just left? And this place?"

"Yes," he shook his head, mocking me. "_That_ is my house. _This_ is my apartment." My eyebrows pulled together as I again looked around at the place and back to Derek. There was no doubt that the place matched him perfectly. However, I was still trying to make sense of how it belonged to him. It was a complete 180 from his old, dusty, broken house. Plus, this apartment must cost close to seven digits considering it was on the top floor of one of the tallest buildings _and_ had a beautiful view!

Derek quickly turned around leaving me no time to reply. I followed behind as he took me through the living room to a small hallway and stopped to open the last door while I still gawked in amazement at the apartment.

"You'll be staying here until I figure things out," he said as I pushed open the door.

The cream colored room was bigger than my dorm _and_ room at home. There was a large dresser and mirror to one side and a king-sized bed right across from it with a lavender-colored bed set to match the purple accents of the room. And ofcourse the far side consisted of large windows to open up to the same gorgeous view of Beacon Hills. It was unbelievable.

I plopped down on the bed and looked straight at Derek who was still standing at the doorway watching me with his gorgeous green eyes.

"Please explain," I nodded casually.

He tiled his head slightly. "Explain what?" he asked, squinting.

I rolled my eyes. "All of this," I looked around the room again. "This apartment. Where did all of this come from?"

He shrugged. "I prefer to live in my house."

I stared at him in disbelief. "I respect that you love your house so much, but this place is just beyond words!" I said. "Is it yours?"

Derek looked away for slight moment in discomfort. "This place belonged to my parents, but now it's mine."

"Your parents? Where are they now?" I asked curiously. Again he looked away for a second, his expression unreadable.

"They're dead."

It felt like I had just been slapped in the face. This time, I turned my head away. I could feel my face growing red of regret for asking. I almost wanted to cry.

"I'm sorry, Derek. I shouldn't have asked," I looked back up at him again after a moment, shaking my head. Though his face was for the most part unreadable, it was unavoidable to recognize the pain hidden in his green eyes. Now I knew. That pain behind his eyes had been there since the moment I had first saw him. I know that he was always hiding something from not only me, but everyone in general, however I could never put my finger on it. But now I understood.

"I need to call Scott," he abruptly changed the subject as he started to turn to head out of the room. I regained my posture and cleared my throat, playing along.

"Why do you have to call him?" I asked, trying to lighten my tone.

"I need him to watch over you tonight," he answered. My eyebrows pulled together in confusion.

"I thought you said that he couldn't come with us or the Alpha would follow," I remembered.

"Yes, I did," he nodded, looking away for a second again. "But I figured that if he was careful to keep your location a secret, then it would be okay. On top of that, I don't have any other babysitter choices."

I eyed him suspiciously, ignoring his bad choice of words. "Where are you going?" I asked curious and somewhat worried.

"I have to stock up the kitchen, now that I'm staying here again," he replied with a straight face. I rolled my eyes at him however he wasn't able to see it as he turned to head out of the room. _Fine, if he didn't want to tell me where he was going, then I wouldn't ask, _I thought. Though I'm sure other people thought Derek was a very good liar, I wasn't convinced.

"Derek?" I called out once more. He sighed as he turned around in the hallway to face me.

"Yes, Karaline?" he asked.

"Are there any more surprises like this that I should know about?" I smiled, looking around the beautiful room and then out to the gorgeous view.

He smirked. "Maybe."


	9. Chapter 9

**Hi Guys! Longest chapter yet. It took me a looong time to write this. By the end of this chapter, you will know what episode of the show that the story is currently taking place through. And for all of you Stiles lovers (like me), he will make his appearance soon ;) There's some brother-sister type fighting going on between Scott and Karaline in this chapter, too. Read, review, and enjoy (: !**

**Don't forget to check out the Photobucket page ;) New Miranda Kerr as Karaline banners up!**

http : / s1123 .photobucket .com/albums/l543/ImLikeMonica/

• •

"Why the hell haven't you called me?" Kaylen shrieked through the phone. "I've been worrying about you, Karaline!" After about an hour of debating with myself, I finally decided to call my sister. It had been about a week since I had talked to her and as far as I knew, she thought I was still at my parent's house. However, since she lived over eight hours away in San Diego, she demanded that I called her at least every couple of days to check in with her.

I started fiddling with the bed comforter. "I'm sorry Kaylen. I've just been busy with homework." I admit that I was a horrible liar when it came to my sister. It was rare that I ever had to keep the truth from her.

"Have you been out partying? Is it drugs? Because I know that you haven't been at home studying the whole time since you last called me, Karaline." Her tone grew more intimidating with every word she spoke. I rolled my eyes and sighed. There were no secrets between my sister and I. "Do I need to fly up there to check on you or can I just call Mom and Dad and say that you're trashing the house?"

"Alright, Kaylen!" I thought that getting married and having a child would mellow out my sister somehow, but she has become twice the bitch that she had been before. I took a deep breath as I hesitated with the words I was about to say. I didn't want to say it, but it was the only excuse that my sister would buy while still being somewhat close to the truth.

"I've been with a guy." The words came out in a rush as I held my breath waiting for her reaction. _Technically, _it wasn't a lie – it was true, just in a different context.

"WHAT? Karaline!" she screamed in excitement. I could picture her jumping out of her seat. "Why didn't you tell me earlier? Oh my God! What's his name? What does he look like? How old is he?" her questions flew out.

"Um," I was overwhelmed. _Shit_. I peeked over at the bedroom door to make sure that it was closed. "His name is Derek," I said quietly.

"Oooh, Derek! _And?" _my sister pushed.

I hesitated again. "He's a little bit older than me." My goal was to answer the bare minimum of questions.

"_How _much older?" her tone suddenly changed. I could see her frowning at the phone in concern.

"A year or two," even though my sister was over eight hours away, I still felt as if she were watching me, looking for any body language that indicated I was lying. I continued to fiddle with the comforter.

"_And _what does he look like?" she continued. I could feel myself blush as I pictured Derek in my head.

"Tall, dark, and handsome," I smiled to myself. She gasped in excitement.

"Good for you, Karaline!" she said approvingly. I sighed in relief, and just as I thought that the questions were done, she threw out another. "So do I get to meet him?"

"No!" I suddenly replied, wincing as I immediately regretted it. Maybe I _should _have just told her that I was bitten by a werewolf and that Derek was one himself...

Kaylen was silent for a moment. "Karaline, I don't mean to sound like Mom. I am just looking out for you," she began. I winced as I prepared myself for what she was about to say next. "But if this is just some college fling then… make sure you're using protection."

My eyes widened in shock. "Oh my God, Kaylen!"

• •

_While Karaline was on the phone…_

I opened the door as quietly as I could as soon as I heard the elevator ring. I doubled checked to see if Karaline's door was shut and sneaked out of the apartment into the entrance room.

"Where is she?" Scott asked as he stepped out of the elevator.

"Sh!" I warned. "She's in her room," I said keeping my voice as quiet as possible. He narrowed his eyes at me.

"Where are you going?" Scott asked, this time keeping his voice down in obedience.

"Where do you _think_ I'm going, Scott?" my sarcasm starting to seep out of me. He rolled his eyes.

"Well," he began, "don't you think I should come with you, then?"

"And leave your cousin vulnerable for the Alpha to take her?" my sarcasm starting to get heavier. "No, Scott. I do not need your help. Plus, it's not very smart for you to go out and hunt the Alpha if the Alpha is already hunting for you, himself."

"Fine! Just make sure you don't die while you're at it. You would just be making things harder than it is," he said. I rolled my eyes.

Suddenly Scott hesitated awkwardly. "Does she know that I'm… like you? A werewolf?"

My body suddenly tensed. "No. And you _cannot_ tell her. You hear me?" I said in a low, serious tone.

"Why not?" he asked. "She already knows about wolves! And how does she know about werewolves anyway?"

"Because she already knows enough. Ask her yourself," I answered. He looked away in frustration.

"Is there anything else that you're hiding from her?"

I glanced away, unintentionally. "No," I lied. "Just make sure that you _always_ keep an eye on her. Do not leave the apartment. And if I _anything_ happens to my place_," _I leaned a little closer to him threateningly, "_I will kill you." _

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, whatever," he waved his hand as he started to walk past me and opened the door to the apartment.

Suddenly he stopped in his tracks as if he had just walked in on a surprise party. Scott stared around himself in shock. He turned around with the oddest look on his face of awe, shock, confusion, and excitement. "Where the hell did _this_ come from?"

• •

After Derek had left, Scott immediately took advantage of what he called the "Holy Grail of Man Caves". I leaned back against the comfy couch watching as Scott leaned forward, intensely watching the screen with the controller in his hands. He had been in that position for what seemed like forever and once in a while he would scream out a curse at the game suddenly, making me jump in shock. This wasn't exactly what I had in mind for bonding time with my cousin who I hadn't seen in months. I had tried to start conversations with him, however they ended unsuccessfully…

"Where is Derek, _really?_" I asked at one point. Scott kept his eyes on the screen as he continued to play his game. "I know he's not out 'buying groceries'."

"At the strip club," he answered mindlessly. I rolled my eyes.

But finally after an hour, I couldn't take it.

"That's it. Give me a controller. You suck, Scott," I sighed. Suddenly, I had forgotten about everything as I was reminded of my childhood with him. I couldn't remember the last time I had played video games, but after a couple rounds, I figured that I _still_ had more skill than Scott.

"I don't understand how you _always_ beat me, even after all these years," he mumbled with a full mouth of food as we sat at the table. After playing Black Ops for almost three hours, Scott took his boyishness to the next level by ordering pizza at two in the morning. I smirked as we continued to eat and talk while watching a marathon of his favorite reality TV show. He was the definition of a teenage guy. We caught up on everything from school, work, family, and even Scott's new girlfriend, Allison. From the way he described her, I demanded Scott that I meet her as soon as possible. When he talked about her, he seemed different – not like his other girlfriends from middle school or whenever. He seemed very happy, and I was glad to that he was.

After he _finally _finished eating, I took a deep breath. Small talk was over. "Scott," I said. He looked over at me with concern.

"What is it, Karaline?" he asked nervously.

"Enough of this. I want to know," I stated.

He looked away from me for a moment in hesitation. "Know what?" he asked trying to sound confused, however he knew _exactly_ what I was talking about.

"How do you know about werewolves?" I asked slowly with emphasis.

Suddenly he looked down at the table with his thinking face. He was silent for a moment as I waited for him. He lifted his head back up - the humor in his eyes from the past couple of hours was gone.

"I was attacked by the Alpha, too" he said. I searched his face for any signs of lying – there were none. Suddenly, just as I was about to speak he buried his head in his hands. "God damn it, Karaline," he mumbled, sounding like he was accusing me.

"What?" I looked down at him very confused.

"Why didn't you tell me that you were in town Karaline?" He looked back up at me with anguish on his face. "You wouldn't be in this position if you would have just told me that you were here in Beacon Hills. I could have protected you! You could have died, Karaline." His face twisted in despair.

I was speechless. I hadn't thought about how me being attacked would affect Scott since I didn't even know he knew about werewolves. And I wasn't even sure if Derek told him about me being bitten! However now that I thought about it, I didn't care about what happened to me as the horror of what Scott had just told me began to sink in.

"When were you attacked? What happened?" I was on the edge of hysteria as I ignored everything Scott had just said.

Scott blinked a couple times as he caught be trying to divert the topic of conversation back to him. He sighed, calming down from his panic moment a few seconds ago. He began to explain, "there have been random attacks around Beacon Hills lately. And let's just say that," I leaned in to listen closer as he paused for a moment finding the right words to say, "I was at the wrong place at the wrong time." He added, "Derek… saved me. If you want to put it that way." I scowled at him as he rolled his eyes.

"Why do you hate him so much, Scott? He saved not only my life, but _your_ life apparently. Yet you're still so rude to him," I accused. The bad tension between them was starting to get to me.

"I don't _hate_ him, Karaline. I just don't trust him. I'm still not 100% sure about whose side he's on," he revealed. "That's why I don't want you to stay here with him," Scott looked at me intently.

"I trust Derek, Scott," I stated firmly. "I understand where your concern is coming from because he's a werewolf like the Alpha, but I know that he won't hurt me."

His eyes squinted as he leaned closer. His voice became a bit more frightening, "I know more about werewolves than you think, Karaline. A hell of a lot more than you do."

"Good for you, Scott," I said, leaning closer and lowering my voice to match his. "But I will judge for myself."

Scott huffed in frustration. "God damnit, Karaline! Stop being so stubborn!" he yelled suddenly.

"Stop being so protective, Scott!" I cried back.

"Karaline, I'm serious! This is not me getting protective over some guy trying to hit on you at the mall, okay! This is serious stu-…" he paused suddenly. My face twisted in confusion as his anger washed away and he started to eye me with suspicion. "Wait," he squinted over at me from across the table. "What is _really_ going on between you and Derek? No bullshit, Karaline!" he bellowed.

My eyes widened. "Are you kidding me? Nothing is going on between us! I already told you that, Scott," I replied in frustration.

"Then do you like him?" his voice calmed down a bit. He still sounded concerned, but now his voice held a hint of amusement. He tilted his head, squinting at me in suspicion even more.

Unintentionally, my eyes drifted away from Scott. A lump grew in my throat. "Um" I began to stutter. Honestly, I wasn't really sure how to answer.

Suddenly, a knock came to the door. I breathed out a huge sigh of relief as Scott's attention was diverted away from me. He motioned for me to stay at the table as he got up.

"Scott…" we heard a muffled voice come from the other side. "Open… the door…" a breathless voice said. Scott swiftly hustled to the door while I followed behind, ignoring his attempt to get me to stay back. I knew that voice.

After checking the peep hole, Scott's body tensed as he unlocked the door hurriedly. As soon as he pulled open the door, Derek stumbled in and fell to his knees before us.

"Derek!" I shrieked. My heart started to race as my eyes bulged. "What's wrong?"

"What the hell happened?" Scott said at the same time. Derek was hunched over on his knees breathing heavily. "Help me get him up, Karaline," Scott ordered. Both Scott and I quickly bent down to move him onto the couch as Scott took most of his weight while I grabbed a hold of Derek's waist and arm. My hands started to shake in fear as soon as I caught sight of Derek's pale face once we sprawled him out on the couch. I knelt down beside him. "Derek, what happened?" I asked as my eyes flooded with worry. He struggled to keep his eyes open while his forehead beaded with sweat. I waited as he tried to catch his breath.

It took a moment for him to answer in a short-winded voice. "I was… shot."


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I do not own Teen wolf.**

**Hi guys. Now that the Alpha is revealed on Teen Wolf, I have figured out the rest of the plot for the story. However, I have to admit that I'm not too happy with how the show is starting to portray Derek… the writers are making him look more vulnerable and weak with each episode and I'm not feelin it. It kinda pisses me off actually… Anyways. Enjoy **

"Why aren't you healing yourself?" Scott asked as I continued to stare at Derek. I couldn't move my body as my mind panicked at the sight of Derek laying helpless on the couch fighting for every breath.

"It's a different kind of bullet," he replied breathlessly.

"What kind was it?" Scott asked as his eyebrows pulled together in concentration.

Derek finally opened his eyes and looked up at him. "That's what I need you to find out."

Scott blinked and shook his head. "How the hell am I supposed to do that?"

"Allison," Derek stated. Suddenly I snapped out of my trance.

"Allison?" I repeated, turning towards Scott. "Your girlfriend? What does she have to do with this?"

Scott frowned down at me while I knelt by Derek as if he had forgotten that I was in the room.

"It was one of the Argent's. Her aunt," Derek paused to catch his breath, ignoring my question. His face was getting paler by the second. "You need to find out what kind of bullet they used."

"Allison's aunt did this?" I shrieked.

"But she has no idea! I can't just ask her!" Scott argued. I was starting to feel a little heated as I was once again ignored.

Abruptly, I pushed myself off of the ground to stand in fury. "Will one of you please explain what Allison has to do with this!" I bellowed. I glanced between Scott and down at Derek who finally looked at me. He hesitated for a moment before answering.

"Allison's family are werewolf hunters," he explained with a hint of anger in his weakened voice.

"Hold on," I took a step back and pinched the bridge of my nose for a moment. "Did you say your girlfriend? Werewolf hunters? What the hell are you thinking, Scott!" I became so overwhelmed as my head started to swirl.

"I don't have time for this, Karaline!" Scott yelled back, putting up his hand to motion for me to stop talking.

Just as I was about to swat Scott's hand away, Derek continued, "If he doesn't bring back the exact bullet that I was shot with, then I'll be dead within a couple hours."

My heart stopped as I processed his words. Everything about Allison and werewolf hunters had disappeared from my mind as I stared down at him – dying.

"What if I can't find-"

"SCOTT!" I interrupted my cousin unexpectedly. Both of the boys jumped back slightly in alarm. I narrowed my eyes and pointed towards the front door. "_Find it,"_ I commanded. He straightened up his posture and gulped – for a moment he was speechless. It was rare that I ever used this tone with anyone, however, I knew it was necessary with my hard-headed cousin. Suddenly I was reminded of my Aunt Melissa and how she would use the exact same tone whenever Scott misbehaved while we were young – frequently.

Scott faced both his palms up at me, motioning for me to calm down. "Okay," he said in defeat. "I'll go." Derek and I watched him as he turned and bolted out the door.

As soon as Scott was gone I ran to the kitchen. "Don't move!" I called out to Derek as I rummaged through all the cupboards until I found what I needed. I quickly filled the bucket at the sink and grabbed the hand towel hanging by the oven before racing back to the couch. "Where is it?" I asked referring to the bullet as I knelt down next to him.

"My arm," he said as he glanced down to his left forearm. I reached forward and took off Derek's signature leather jacket, slowing down once I noticed him wince as I attempted to pull on the left sleeve. Once I got it off, I admit that it was not a pretty sight. The deep wound was seeping blood as his veins were starting to turn a faint black. I wasn't exactly the bravest person when it came to the sight of blood, but my mother's nursing instincts kicked in. I knew that I was limited as to what I could do to help heal Derek considering it was a "magic bullet" however I would try my best.

_**Derek's Point of View**_

It was a pain that was indescribable - something that I had never experienced before. Though the bullet ran through my forearm, its painful venom continued to spread throughout my body. My chest ached with every breath I attempted to take and my hands were shaking. My entire body felt clammy as sweat gathered at my forehead while I felt chills run through me. All of a sudden, I felt something warm pressed against my forehead.

I snapped my eyes open to find someone sitting next to me, pressing a damp towel to my face. Her free arm was placed on the couch by the other side of my body for support as she hovered over me, while perched at the edge of the couch by my waist. Suddenly my heart rate slowed. I actually felt relieved as she dabbed the warm towel on my forehead to my cheeks and neck. Though the pain hadn't receded at all, it did help. However, even as the excruciating fire continued to flicker from my arm to the rest of my body, somehow my mind drifted elsewhere.

I stared up at the girl, studying her face as she intently focused on her task. It was the first time that I been able to really look at her since the night she was saved. Her body was tense as she turned slightly to rinse and squeeze out the cloth while her dark blue eyes glimmered in distress. Her full lips lightly frowned as her long soft, brown locks fell over her shoulders, framing her heart shaped face perfectly. Strangely, I felt the urge to reach up and touch her.

From the moment I first saw her, I knew it, however I always stopped myself from thinking about it – the girl was beautiful. She was perfect.

I cleared my throat unintentionally but winced as I felt it burn from dryness. Karaline finally looked at me in concern then swiftly vanished from the couch into the kitchen, and just as fast as she was gone, she was by my side again, this time with a glass of water.

"Here," she offered. I shook my head.

"No, I'm fine," I stated.

Her lips hardened into a line. "Drink it, Derek," she directed. I didn't have the strength to fight back and frankly, I really was thirsty. Karaline carefully placed a hand behind my back to help me sit up slowly, making sure that she didn't move my arm. I felt ridiculous that she had to actually help me do something as simple as sit up, but my body was too weak. I took the glass with my free hand and chugged the entire thing within a few seconds.

I watched Karaline as she took the empty glass and placed it on the coffee table before grabbing the damp cloth again.

"You don't have to do this, you know," I said. Suddenly she stopped moving and looked up at me as anger surged her eyes.

"Why don't I just sit here and watch you die," she replied harshly before rolling her eyes and picking up where she left off with the cloth. Her tone surprised me. "Don't be ridiculous, Derek," she muttered as her sweet scent engulfed me once she leaned closer.

We sat there in silence for a while as she continued to clean me up. Though the pain didn't stop, to an extent, I felt a little better. I watched her angelic face as anger faded to concern yet again and concentration washed over her eyes. I was so focused on her that I didn't see what was coming next.

"FUCK!" I jumped back abruptly, pulling my left arm with me.

"I'm sorry!" Karaline shrieked. I glanced at her in disbelief as she stared at me with guilt on her face.

"That hurts," I said after a moment.

"I'm sorry," she repeated as her eyes softened. "I was just trying to clean up the blood. I won't touch it anymore," she reassured as she slowly put down the cloth inside the bucket. I eyed her, still unsure – the girl was a good liar, even for me. "I promise," she encouraged. "Please, just lay back down. You need to rest."

I sighed as my head began to spin before slowly leaning back down on the couch.

For the next couple of hours, I had no choice but to lay on the couch as the excruciating pain grew. Karaline grew restless as we continued to sit and wait. It was rare that another person was ever more impatient than me, however, she was the exception. At one point she gave up and called Scott to find out any news on his search to find the bullet.

"Did you two forget that it's four in the morning?" Scott asked. "I tried to sneak into the house but it's too risky. I need to wait a couple more hours. Don't pressure me, Karaline!"

_**Karaline's Point of View**_

After I had cooked Derek breakfast and forced him to eat it, I leaned back on the other side of the wrap-around white couch. It was around 8 in the morning by now and my lids were starting to get heavy. After he had refused to let me clean the wound, I at least convinced him to let me wrap his forearm with some gauze that I found in the bathroom. I peered over at Derek who was still sprawled out on the couch - his skin gained just a pinch of color after he had eaten, however he was still very pale and it was hard not to miss the pain spread out on his face.

"Karaline, go to sleep," he said faintly as he stared across at me. His weakened voice made my heart drop. It wasn't right to see him so frail.

"No," I refused. "I'm fine."

Derek narrowed his eyes at me. "You're stressing me out."

My eyes widened. "_I'm_ stressing_ you_ out?" I asked in disbelief.

"_You're_ freaking out so much, that you're starting to make _me_ freak out," he affirmed.

"I'm surprised that you're not already freaking out!" she barked back, her voice starting to rise. Karaline scooted towards the edge of the couch unintentionally, leaning towards me. "You're dying, Derek," she said as if I already didn't know.

"Thank you for pointing that out, Karaline," I said sarcastically, rolling my eyes at the girl. "But I don't need you to make the situation more stressful by panicking. _Calm down._"

Suddenly she clenched her jaw and pushed herself off of the couch. Her blue eyes narrowed at me in agitation. "Well I'm sorry that I actually care about you." With that she turned on her heels and stormed into her room, slamming the door as I stared after her, speechless.


	11. Chapter 11

_**Hi Guys! Thank you for the reviews and please on REVIEWING! Probably won't get the next chapter up until Friday. Enjoy my loves (:!**_

_**This chapter is for Caroline-Ann. Thank you for your support! I appreciate it girl (:**_

_**AND Karaline and Derek will get together soon, I promise! :D**_

I laid there for what seemed like days staring at the room around me. I tried to make sense of what had happened but it was all too big of a shock. Karaline's words still rung in my head… "Care about you." It wasn't something that I hadn't heard before, however it _was_ something that I hadn't heard in a long time.

With every hour, the pain began to escalate even when I thought it couldn't get any worse. My forehead began to sweat again and my breathing turned into panting as my chest ached with every rise and fall. I had been fighting it for hours now, but I knew that I needed her help. After I called Scott an hour ago, he said that he had told me that he still needed an hour or two, but that wasn't a promise.

"Did you find it?" I asked in my weakened voice.

"How am I supposed to find one bullet?" Scott whispered in a frustrated voice. He had been at Allison's house for three hours and still hadn't gotten the opportunity to search. "There's a million here. This house is like the freaking Wal-Mart of guns."

"If you don't find it, then I'm dead," I warned. My body was exhausted, trying to heal the wound, that I couldn't even keep my eyes open. "The Alpha is after you as well as your cousin. If you want Karaline and yourself to stay alive then you need me. _Find the bullet."_ With that I hung up the phone.

The girl hadn't left her room for four hours now and though I thought I would be better off dealing with the pain with peace and quiet – I was wrong. With nothing to pull my attention, my mind focused on nothing but the pain making it almost impossible for me to fight through. The last time I had the strength to open my eyes, I noticed from the corner of my eye that my gauze wrapped forearm was completely soaked in red and with the little energy that I had, I ripped my sweat-soaked shirt as my body started to shake.

I never gave up, but at this point I had no choice.

"Karaline!" I cried out, my eyes squeezed shut as the pain continued to seer. "Karaline! Come out here, please!"

"Oh my God," I heard a panicked voice faintly after a moment. I looked up to see her at my side. "Why didn't you call me earlier?" she high-pitched voice asked, however I didn't have the strength to answer. For the next half hour, we didn't say a word as she re-wrapped my forearm and put down a couple glasses of water for me on the coffee table before again refilling the bucket. Immediately, I felt relief once she pressed the damp cloth to my forehead.

I looked up at her and sighed. "I'm sorry, Karaline."

Her blue eyes widened for a split second down at me as she stopped what she was doing. I continued, "I didn't mean to be angry with you. It's just been…" I hesitated trying to find the right words as she pulled back to get a better look at me. "I'm not very social. I don't mean to be rude, especially to you, but I'm not used to… people, anymore. This town built up their own wall against me and people know to stay away." I broke away from her gaze as I habitually clenched my jaw. "My parents, my sister, my uncle are all dead. I don't have anyone and I've just grown used to shutting out the world." Karaline dropped her head as I took a deep breath. "When you told me what you said earlier, I was thrown off guard. I mean, it's been years since someone has actually said that they care about me. Even my sister and I never told each other that because..." I paused again, thinking about Laura. "Well because we're brother and sister," I shrugged. At this, Karaline slightly laughed. I looked away from her once again as I cleared my throat. "I'm sorry, Karaline. Truly."

After a moment, she looked back to me with glistening blue eyes. "It's okay, Derek. I understand that you're a private person and I respect that. And even though I haven't known you that long, you _did_ save my life. I really cannot thank you enough for that and for what you're doing right now. It's just that…" she looked down as she fiddled with her hands. "This is my fault," she whispered. A tear slipped down her cheek. _Not again._

"What are you talking about, Karaline?" I asked, peering up at her. After a few moments she looked back to me.

"This!" she pointed to my forearm. "You wouldn't be in this situation if it wasn't for me, Derek!" Guilt flooded her face. I stared at the petite girl, somewhat in amusement as part of her brown locks shielded her guilt flooded face as she slightly turned away.

"Karaline," I shook my head. "_This_," I eyed my arm, "would have happened even if you hadn't showed up." She quickly turned her head to face me again. "These hunters have been after me since I was born, Karaline. They will never stop this game of "cat and mouse". This is not your fault," I reassured.

The girl was quiet for a few minutes as she absorbed this information. Her turned her charming blue eyes towards me – I noticed a sudden unreadable change in them. "Where were you last night?" her head tilted in curiosity.

_**Karaline's Point of View**_

He squinted at me, taken aback by my sudden switch in topic as I leaned forward to hold the damp cloth to Derek's neck. His condition was not getting any better as purple bruises started to appear under his eyes and his skin drained pale white. When I had changed the gauze on Derek's arm, I had noticed that the darkened veins around the wound has started to crawl farther up almost to his bicep – I knew he only had a couple hours left, however, I did everything I could to keep my emotions under control.

"I told you," he looked at me intently. I peered down at him, slightly raising one eyebrow with a light smirk.

"You went to buy groceries?" I asked amused. He continued to stare at me as he nodded. "Huh," I mumbled. "So one of the hunters shot you while you were walking down the dairy aisle?" I tested my sarcasm on him. He rolled his eyes, giving up on the lie and I chuckled. "Derek Hale pushing a cart full of groceries? That doesn't seem right."

"Don't worry about it, Karaline," he said.

"Well," I hesitated with what I was about to ask next. "Were you with someone?" I tried to keep my voice casual. My heart began to pound and it wasn't just because I was sitting there helplessly watching Derek die.

"Weren't you listening to anything that I just said?" he asked, with a hint of frustration in his weak voice. I ignored him, continuing to wait. He shook his head, rolling his eyes. "No, Karaline. I was not with anybody."

My body relaxed a little while I caught myself just before I breathed out a sigh of relief. Again, I tried to act casual, "Then where were you?"

Derek huffed as he stared up at me with his alluring green eyes, contemplating. A moment later, he answered. "I was trying to-" Suddenly, he stopped midsentence as his attention redirected past me towards the front door.

"Derek? What is it?" I turned around to see what he was staring at, but saw nothing. Suddenly, he started to push himself off of the couch in alarm, as I immediately took hold of him to help him up. His body was shaking as he used his last bit of strength to stand up while I used all of my strength to hold him up.

"Scott's here," he panted. Before I could even process Derek's words, the door flew open and in stepped no one other than my cousin.


	12. Chapter 12

**Hi guys. Sorry I know I haven't updated in a while! It's just been a busy week. I've also had trouble trying to figure out how I wanted this chapter to play out. Warning, it does switch viewpoints quite a bit, :x sorry! Anyways please REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! Enjoy my loves (: 3**

"Where is it?" Derek asked in a husky voice as I helped him across the apartment towards the kitchen with Scott following behind.

"I have it," he answered as Derek grabbed onto the edge of the kitchen island for support. Scott pulled out a large, bronze bullet from his pocket and handed it to Derek who inspected it closely. "Well?" Scott asked impatiently. "Is it the right one?" At this point, Derek was having trouble keeping his eyes open. He had deep purple bruises under his eyes and his pale skin was damp with beads of sweat.

"We're about to find out," Derek panted as he bit off the end of the bullet and poured out the powder on top of the granite counter top. Out of nowhere he took out a lighter and ignited the powder – he hesitated. Suddenly he looked up at Scott and I who were standing across the island staring at him. My heart was pounding so hard that I thought I might have passed out. "Take her into the room," he directed at Scott, his eyes stern. Scott wasted no time as he obeyed and quickly turned to grab my arm.

"No!" I refused, pushing him away but Scott was too strong to fight. "Stop it, Scott!" He picked me up and quickly hustled to the closest room before closing the door, however, not before I heard the painful screams of Derek from the kitchen.

• •

_**Scott's Point of View**_

"Stay in here," I cautioned Karaline. "It's for your own safety." Surprisingly, she nodded in agreement. I slowly crept around the corner and closed the bedroom door behind me – I heard nothing but silence from the kitchen.

"Derek?" I called out. I entered the kitchen to find no one. "Where are you?" No answer.

"I'm here," he answered suddenly, pulling himself up off the ground using the kitchen counter. Despite his cries of pain just a few minutes ago, his voice was back to its bitter tone. His complexion had gained back color and the dark bags under his eyes had disappeared.

"Well are you okay?" I asked.

"Except for the agonizing pain?" he replied with his signature sarcasm as he rolled his eyes.

I _hated_ his sarcasm. "Well if you're fine, then will you just leave us alone now?" I shot back. Derek's body tensed as his eyes hardened. "I helped you out. Now please will you just leave us alone?"

"You don't get it do you," he said in a low voice.

"Get what?" I asked confused. "Look I can take care of Karaline myself. She doesn't need you." Derek's eyes shifted to the door behind me, where Karaline was.

He lowered his voice even more, making sure that only I could hear him. "She thinks she was bitten." My body went cold, suddenly.

I blinked up at him. "What?"

"Sh!" Derek hushed.

"Was she bitten?" I whispered in an alarmed tone.

"No," he stated, again in his low voice. I breathed out a sigh of relief.

"Well then," I shook my head. "Then there's no reason for her to be here!" I paused, hesitantly. "Right?" Derek's eyes drifted for a moment before coming back to me. Fear washed over me. "What aren't you telling me?" I asked nervously.

Derek's jaw clenched as he took a deep breath. "I don't know why," he began, "but the Alpha is after her."

At that moment, my heart dropped as my worst nightmare started to build right in front of me. Being wanted by the Alpha myself was bad enough, however, my family getting involved was far worse. Even before all of this happened, I was very protective of my family, especially Karaline. Though she was older than me, I looked after her like she was my little sister – I was her protector and knowing that I almost lost her to the Alpha made me feel like a failure.

"I ruled out the possibility that she was bitten because the scratches on her neck aren't deep enough. And when I was hunting for the Alpha last night, it was like…" Derek paused, reminiscing on the incident with a look of frustration on his face. He shook his head. "It was like he sent me some sort of… non-verbal message… like a vision." His face was twisted in deep state of stress.

"What the hell are you talking about? A vision?" I asked. He finally looked at me.

"Yes. Instead of a message, it was like he sent me a picture," he answered. His eyes were clouded with confusion.

"Well what was the picture of?" I questioned, nervously.

Derek's face hardened as he clenched his jaw. "Karaline."

• •

My mind was racing along with my heart as I helplessly curled into a ball at the edge of Derek's bed. His agonizing screaming was on replay in my head. Scott had warned me to stay inside until he checked it if was safe and Derek was in control of himself – or even alive. However, it had been five minutes since he locked me in here, and it was dead quiet outside – so quiet, I could hear my own heart beating a mile a minute. It took every bit of physical and mental energy to keep myself from breaking down the door and finding out what was going on. Was Derek okay? Did he lose control and transform? Did the bullet work? Is he alive?

Suddenly, I snapped my head up as I heard the door opening. My heart skipped a beat as I saw the tall figure standing before me. At that moment, I lost control as I leaped off the bed, ran, and jumped to encircle my arms around him.

"Derek!" I shrieked, almost in tears. Surprisingly, I felt his strong arms tighten around my waist. "You're okay!" My entire body relaxed as he held me. I didn't want to let go – however he pulled back first. I took a step back to look up at him. His skin had gained back its color and his gorgeous green eyes were staring down at me. Suddenly I felt self-conscious as I felt his gaze on me.

I cleared my throat. "Where's Scott?" I asked.

"He left," Derek answered simply.

"Oh," I said. His face stone and I couldn't read his eyes. I hesitated. "What's wrong? I know you're not telling me something." Derek's eyebrows pulled together as I folded my arms. "Are you okay? Did something happen with Scott?" I questioned, starting to get a little frantic.

Derek looked away from me for a moment in deliberation. "Sit down. I need to tell you something, Karaline," he said. I gulped, bracing myself for whatever he was about to say.

• •

She hadn't moved for a very long time after I had told her everything. Karaline just sat on my bed with her knees curled up to her chest and stared off into space. Her expression was blank and her heartbeat told me nothing. I honestly was started to worry about her.

I started off telling her about hunting the Alpha the night before and carried on to the vision that I received before I was shot – after that, I proceeded to tell her that her "bite mark" wasn't something to worry about anymore… however, even though I didn't know why, the Alpha was after her.

At that point, she turned away and curled into a ball on my bed. I wasn't sure if what she was feeling at the moment – relieved, scared, surprised, angry… She was difficult to read, which frightened me.

"What are you thinking?" I finally spoke up. I crossed my arms and waited as I was perched against the dresser across the room from her. After a moment she glanced towards me, still with unreadable eyes.

"A lot," she said quietly.

"Well would you like to tell me one of the things that's on your mind?" I asked. Her eyebrows pulled together as she looked down slightly.

She hesitated for a minute. "You're not hunting for the Alpha again," she stated. I blinked at her in disbelief. Her eyes were serious as she stared at me.

"What?"

"I don't want you hunting for the Alpha anymore," she repeated, this time with more emphasis. I shook my head.

"I just told you that the Alpha is still on the hunt for you, yet you only care about the part where I went out and hunted for him?" I questioned in amusement.

Her beautiful blue eyes narrowed at me for a second before they regained composure. "I didn't say that it was the only thing I cared about. Yes, I'm very relieved to know that I wasn't bitten. But the way I see it is, if the Alpha really is after me, then he could just take me any time he wants." She looked away as her face clouded with concentration. "He's waiting."

"Waiting for what?" I asked, considering her theory.

She looked up at me with assertive blue eyes. "For something to happen. And when it does, he will take me." Fear washed over her face as she turned her head away slightly. I fell silent as I comprehended all of this information – frankly, it actually made sense. Suddenly I heard a sniffle as Karaline started shaking her head. "I'm sorry that I'm putting you through all of this," she said in a shaky voice. "You don't need to do this."

I glared down at her. "What are you talking about, Karaline?"

_**Karaline's Point of View**_

"If the Alpha is after me, then I should be dealing with it on my own. I don't want to force you to protect me." Derek's body tensed as I started to push myself off of the bed and onto my feet.

"Stop it, Karaline!" he ordered, his voice rising. "Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

"No, Derek! Now that we know I was not bitten, you don't need to watch over me. I know you don't want to. The Alpha is my problem now!" I felt heat radiating off of his body as I started to walk towards the door.

"No he is not! He is everyone's problem!" he shot back.

I shook my head in refusal. "Well I know that you don't want me around. I don't want to be an inconvenience to you, anymo-" Suddenly I got the wind knocked out of me as I felt a strong arm pull me by the waist away from the door. In a split second I found myself under his gorgeous gaze, inches away from his face.

His green eyes narrowed down at me, "Why are you so difficult?" he said in a low, menacing tone. I was speechless. All I could manage to do was stare at his perfect eyes and lips as I used every ounce of my energy to keep myself from moving closer. My heart began to beat faster. "I will protect you, Karaline. Not because I feel like I have to and not because of the Alpha. It's because I _want_ to," his green gaze was intoxicating as he stared down at me with a look that I had never seen on him before. Slowly he lifted his hand and entangled his fingers through my hair to lightly grab hold of my head. "Even though you annoy the hell out of me, you're not leaving, Karaline." With that, he bent down and his soft lips met mine. As he pulled me closer against his strong body, my body grew numb while my mind began to swirl into a state of bliss.


	13. Chapter 13

_**Hi guys (: Sorry I've been updating kind of slowly these last few chapters. I'm starting school soon and have been trying to make the best of the last few weeks of summer ;) Not a lot of action in this chapter, but lots of Derek+Karaline. This was supposed to go up a couple days ago but I was unhappy with it and kept on re-editing. The latest episode of Teen Wolf got me thinking of a different plot for this story… meaning I will somehow include Kate into all of this. She's a crazy bitch but I like her haha. Also… when Derek almost cried… I liked it ONLY because it's the writers are really starting to build his character and background story.**_

_**Please keep reviewing and PLEASE let me know any ideas you guys have for this story! :D Thanks my loves.**_

_**To answer a few questions…**_

_**Who do you envision Karaline to look like?**_

_Karaline was at first supposed to "look like" Megan Fox, only because I thought that Megan and Derek looked like the perfect couple, however, I felt that Miranda Kerr fit the role of Karaline better because she has that girl-next-door type of beauty yet she's still sexy. _

_**How did you come up with this story?**_

_I started to really love the character of Derek after the "Magic Bullet" episode because there was a lot of mystery around him. I feel like the mystery around Derek is comparable to the mystery of what teachers are really like outside of school… haha. My mind started to wander and I found myself thinking about how I perceived him to be when he wasn't out worrying about Scott. The "first" chapter that I came up with dealt with the meeting of Stiles and Karaline (already as Derek's girlfriend) because I love both of their personalities and thought it would be entertaining to see them meet. From then on, I just started building the plot backwards… So YES, you will FINALLY see the meeting of Stiles and Karaline within the next couple of chapters!_

**Okay I'll stop talking now (:**

—

I gazed down at the petite girl next to me as she was curled up, asleep on my chest. Her heartbeat was soothing as it steadily thumped while I held her close. I had been studying everything about her for over an hour – her long lashes, her full lips, every line on her face, her long, flowing hair... I couldn't keep my eyes off of the angel in my arms.

I wasn't able to resist replaying the scene from a couple hours ago, over and over in my head.

• •

I could hear Karaline's heartbeat rising as she reached up to lock her arms around my neck. Our lips moved in sync and she sighed as I deepened the kiss, slipping my tongue along her bottom lip after she opened her mouth slightly. I pulled her up and made my way towards the bed while she wrapped her legs around my waist. Her sweet scent engulfed me as I carefully laid her down on the bed without breaking the kiss and hovered over her. She ran her fingers through my hair, pulling me closer while my hands explored every curve of her body.

Every problem, every person, and every thought had escaped my mind. It was all about her. There was no where I wanted to be except here. But I had to pull away.

"I'm stopping," I whispered, touching my forehead with hers.

Her pulse was thick while she panted, trying to catch her breath. "Okay," Karaline said breathlessly, understanding. I rolled off of her and pushed myself up against the pillows slightly as she shifted her body to lay her head on my chest and wrap her arm across my stomach. We lay like that for a long time taking in each other's presence while I listened to Karaline's heart rate slowly decline.

It was her who was the first to break the silence. Karaline craned her neck to look up at me with her beautiful blue eyes. "So what happens now?" she asked.

• •

_**Karaline's Point of View**_

By the time I woke up, the sunlight was heavily streaming through the windows. For a moment my heart sunk as I thought I had just woken up from a dream, until I noticed an arm protectively wrapped around me. I slightly shifted back to look up at his gorgeous face. I had never seen him so peaceful – all the stern lines in his face were smoothed out as he took in deep, steady breathes. He hadn't gotten any sleep in about two days and I knew he was exhausted. I couldn't help but smile as I stared up at him for a few minutes.

Carefully, I leaned up to kiss him lightly on the cheek before slithering away from his strong arms.

I spent the next couple of hours cleaning up the house as well as myself since I hadn't showered in almost two days, and by the time lunch came around I decided to put together whatever meal I could in the kitchen.

As I stood there at the stove, I caught myself smiling as I suddenly remembered what had happened this morning. No doubt his kiss caught me off guard, but I had no complaints – however, I had many questions. Where were Derek and I supposed to go from here? Even when I asked him, he never gave me a straight answer, rather he responded by saying something along the lines of "let's just see how things play out". I agreed with myself to let the topic go for now.

After that, we talked which mostly consisted of him asking me questions and me answering. Derek asked me about everything from school, my family, to my childhood. I didn't take long for me to figure out that all of his questions were purposely asked to keep me from asking him anything. In addition to talking, we kissed – a lot. I sighed to myself – Derek's kiss. To say that Derek was a good kisser was an understatement. Even when my eyelids were heavy and I was on the bridge of unconsciousness, I couldn't get enough of his soft lips, but after a while Derek finally caught onto why I wasn't able to sleep no matter how many times he insisted that I get some rest.

Suddenly I gasped as a pair of strong arms wove their way around my waist breaking me away from my daydream, but I sighed as I felt his warm kiss on my neck. A small, uncontrollable moan escaped my lips as his lips and tongue made its way to the most sensitive spot on my neck, right below my jaw while my head rolled back against his body. I could feel my heart starting to rise as it always did whenever he was around.

"Good morning," he said as I felt his hot breath tickling my skin. I turned slightly towards him and sighed again once I met his awaiting lips. My heart started to pound and my head began to swirl as Derek deepened the kiss, but right before my knees were about to give out, he pulled away.

It took me a moment to gather myself before I looked up into his alluring green eyes. "Morning," I said breathlessly, still a little dizzy. Derek pulled me closer and did something that surprised me – he smiled. I had only seen him smile a couple times before, and it made my heart flutter to see it again. He gazed down at me with unreadable eyes.

"What?" I slanted my eyes at him, lightheartedly.

"Nothing," Derek tried to hide his smirk. I eyed him suspiciously.

"What is it? Why are you staring at me like that?" I questioned him teasingly.

"Like what?" he answered, pretending to be clueless. I glared at him for a moment before a slight smile played on his lips – his sign of surrender. "You look beautiful," he said softly.

I looked away for a moment as I felt myself blush. My self-consciousness kicked in high gear – I realized that I had absolutely no make-up on, my hair was air dried, slightly poofy, and I was wearing sweats that I have bought the other day.

"What did you want to do today?" he asked, letting go of my waist to find his way to the table.

I shrugged. "I don't know. Surprise me," I smiled at him from the corner of my eye. I placed the bacon, eggs, and sausage on a plate and turned to find Derek already sitting at the table gazing out the window towards the beautiful view of Beacon Hills. I set the plate down in front of him and sat across from him as he started to eat. I smiled at him shyly, suddenly feeling very self conscious as I caught him playfully stare at me as he continued to take bites from the plate. However, I felt a sudden shift in his mood.

"Karaline?" he looked up at me with unreadable eyes. I waited in fear as he took in a deep breath. His quick change in tone caught me off guard and I tried to prepare myself for whatever was about to come out of his mouth. "You have to go home tonight."

My heart stopped. I couldn't keep my eyes off of him as I tried to read his expression, attempting to make sense of his words. "What? Did I do something?" I asked quietly. I could feel my cheeks turning red as I fought to keep my voice from cracking.

Surprisingly, Derek chuckled. "No, Karaline." For a split-second, amusement washed over his face.

I silently breathed out a sigh of relief. His green eyes darkened again as he continued, "Do you know what tonight is?"

Tonight? I thought about it for a moment, but nothing crossed my mind. I stared at him blankly as he shook his head. "It's the full moon."

"Oh," I dropped my stare into my lap.

"I want you to be safe, Karaline. I mean, for the most part, I have control of my shape-shifting, but I don't want to take any risks," he explained. I nodded, still keeping my eyes away from him. Suddenly Derek reached across the table, grabbed my hand and pulled me around into his lap. "You didn't do anything wrong," he reassured as he held me close. His green eyes were honest. "You just have to understand that," he paused, looking away for a moment. "It's been a long time since I've actually cared for someone and if anything happens to you, especially because of me-"

"Stop," I touched his face, interrupting him. Derek's face was twisted in agony. "I trust you, Derek," I said, pressing my hand to his cheek, forcing him to look back towards me.

"You shouldn't," he replied firmly.

"And why not?" I asked, already knowing the answer. His green eyes darkened again.

"I'm dangerous, Karaline," he said slowly after a moment.

"_I trust you_," I repeated. Derek rolled his eyes. Suddenly his eyes softened as he fell quiet for a moment and looked away.

"You're so stubborn," he mumbled under his breath. "You don't know what you're talking about," he said to me.

"Yes I d-" Right when I opened my mouth to object, he quickly picked me up and placed me on my feet.

"Get ready," he ordered casually in a typical Derek fashion.

I folded my arms and glared at him, proving his point of my stubbornness, exactly. "You can't just change the subject like that! I had something to say!" I declared. Not only was I unhappy that he wouldn't let me talk, but _now_ he was bossing me around.

"I don't care," he uttered, monotone as he finished up his plate. I glared down at him as I watched Derek's smirk turned into a genuine smile. After swallowing one more bite, he looked up at me again with lightened green eyes. "There's somewhere I want to take you."


	14. Chapter 14

**Hi guys. This chapter ended up being a lot longer than I intended and took so freaking long to write. Anyways I have a NEW STORY UP!**

**It's called REVELATION and ofcourse, it deals with Derek. All I'm going to say about it is that somehow it deals with Derek, Kate, and a 3-year-old girl with familiar blond hair and green eyes. Please check it out!**

**I've said before how I love the character of Kate and I came up with another story line that shows a different side of Derek that you don't see on the show. **

**And before I shut up… Derek's the Alpha. Yay! (: Enjoy my loves. And thank you for the reviews.**

** • •**

"Derek," she called out to me once again. From the corner of my eyes I could see her turned in her seat, staring at me. "Please?" she smiled, sweetly.

"Shut up, Karaline," I muttered.

"Come on. We've been in the car forever. Just give me a hint," she said. Without looking at her, I could picture her fluttering her eyelashes at me innocently, trying to seduce me into telling her what she wanted.

"No," I stated. "We're almost there. Sit and be quiet." For some reason, Karaline giggled. I peaked at her again from the corner of my eye before returning my attention back to the road.

"Always in such a sour mood," she mumbled to herself. I shook my head at her comment as I made a sudden turn onto a dirt path that led us to a familiar clearing of the forest. We were about an hour outside of town, in the middle of a dense California forest, however I knew exactly where I was.

I had memorized this area like the back of my hand to the point where I recognized certain trees and counted the boulders along the road before I found my turn.

"Oh my God," she gasped after a few moments. I pulled the car right up to the edge of the cliff and before I could turn off the engine, Karaline quickly hopped out. Suddenly my heart skipped a beat as I saw her walking closer to the edge and within a second, I was outside on the other side of the car, pulling her back to a safe distance.

"_Careful_," I warned. I continued to hold on her as she stared in awe at the view before us. It was good to be back here. I hadn't been here in a very long time, yet everything still looked the same.

We were about a fourth of a mile above the enormous, glittering lake as the sun set behind the backdrop of the mountains which wrapped around the water completely. There was no wind and everything was so peaceful while the sky swirled into purple, pink and blue. It felt as if we were the only ones left in the world and we were on top of it all.

I glanced around me taking in everything and suddenly the memories flooded in – I looked over to the shaded area underneath the trees behind us where my parents would set up picnics for Laura and I when we were young, then to the large boulder down by the lake that we would always dive off of during the summer and the sandy patch that my parents sat together on as they watched us, even the old tree log at the edge of the water where my mother used to sit and hold me to try and warm me up after she wrapped me in a towel. I remembered everything.

"What is this place?" Karaline asked, continuing to stare out before her.

I snapped out of my daydream. "Not a lot of people know about this because it's hidden pretty well. I explained. "But my family used to come up here every weekend."

Karaline turned towards me and wrapped her arms around my neck while I kept my grasp around her waist. She stared up at me with smiling blue eyes for a moment.

"You're full of surprises, Derek," she said quietly. "Thank you for taking me here. It's beautiful." With that I lowered my head to meet her lips. 

• •

We sat on top of Derek's car for what seemed like hours staring out into the beauteous lake as it glimmered in the sunset – the scene before us was something so perfect that is seemed too good to be true. It was a world so different from my life in Sacramento and Beacon Hills. I never wanted to leave his side as we continued to talk… and kiss, until he said it was getting too late. That night Derek brought me to his apartment where he said that I could stay.

"What about you? Where are you going?" I asked. "I thought you said-"

"I'm going back to the house tonight," he responded. "You will be safe here," he reassured. I nodded, trusting his judgement, however I wasn't very comfortable with him staying at the house. Though I knew that tonight was the full moon and he was taking precautions to keep me safe from himself, it was his safety that I was worried about.

"But will you be safe there?" I questioned, uneasily. "What about the Alpha?"

"He's not after me, Karaline. And you shouldn't worry about him either."

I nodded, though still not completely at ease. "Well," I said, "will you at least take some blankets with you? It's extra cold tonight and that house is already freezing enough."

Derek's stern face softened slightly as he chuckled at my request. With a couple strides he closed the distance between us and leaned down to kiss me on the forehead. "I'll be fine. Just go to sleep. I'll see you in the morning." And before I could say goodbye he was out the door.

That night I had trouble sleeping. It seemed like every inch of the bed was uncomfortable while I tossed and turned. My mind was wandering uneasily as I worried about Derek. It took me a couple hours to realize that the reason I was having trouble sleeping was because I missed him – I missed everything about him from his scent to his stunning green eyes, even his bad-tempered sarcasm. Finally, even as exhausted as I was, I dragged myself to the other side of the apartment, climbed into his bed and within a couple seconds I was in a deep dream state.

• •

The next morning I came home and went straight to Karaline's room – after having a mini-heart attack, I found her fast asleep in my bed. She was so deep in her sleep that I didn't bother waking her up. For a while, I sat down in the plump chair by the bed and watched over her beautiful face until she awoke.

"Morning," she smiled, turning on her side to face me. "You're okay," she said relieved. I couldn't help but smile at this.

"I am," I nodded. "May I ask why you aren't in your own bed?" I questioned, teasingly.

Karaline blushed. "No," she said shyly, rolling over onto her other side so that she faced away from me. Quietly I pushed myself off of the chair and hovered myself over her body so that she had no choice but to look at me. I found it absolutely adorable that she was actually embarrassed about this.

"And why is that?" I asked, my lips lingering dangerously close to hers. Karaline's eyes wandered down to my mouth as her heartbeat began to rise.

"Because I said so," she whispered. I inched closer to her lips.

"Tell me," I said, moving in just a bit closer to close what little distance already between us existed.

"No," she refused breathlessly.

"_Tell me,"_ I demanded, but before she could respond I leaned down to meet her lips. Her sweet scent engulfed me as I pressed some of my weight on top of her while Karaline wrapped her arms around my neck, pulling me even closer. Our soft, innocent kisses soon turned passionate as she opened her mouth slightly, inviting me to deepen the kiss. Without hesitation, I slipped in my tongue and quickly our lips were moving in sync. Karaline sighed beneath me as I wound my fingers through her hair gently and my other hand explored the curves of her body. I felt one of her hands disappear from my neck as it made its way down to the hem of my shirt. Her hand wandered underneath the fabric and roamed around my lower back. Things were getting heated quickly, and though I knew that I had to stop, I didn't.

Suddenly I felt her hand graze against my lower abdomen sparking a growl to grow in my throat – it was then that I finally pulled away. We were both breathless as I leaned back slightly, the taste of her tongue still lingering on my lips. We were both quiet for a moment, until she broke the silence.

"I missed you," Karaline whispered. "That's why I stayed in here." At this, I couldn't help but smile. I bent down to peck her on the lips one more time.

"I missed you too," I admitted. Though it took every ounce of energy, I pushed myself off of the bed and onto my feet, thinking that creating a little distance would lessen the temptation to take her right then and there. Karaline's cheeks were still flustered and her hair was a little disheveled as she sat up on the bed.

"Get ready," I said.

"Why?" she asked starting to get my breathing back to normal.

"I'm taking you back to the campus."

Karaline was quiet for a moment as she processed these words. An array of emotions washed over her face. "Why? Is it safe for me to go back?" she asked.

"I thought about it last night, and yes. Sacramento is a big city and you go to a big school, so I doubt the Alpha would be able to find you with all those people, if he even _is _trying to find you at the moment. _Plus_," I explained. "You've missed a lot of school."

Karaline looked away for a moment. "Will I still be able to see you?" she asked shyly. Again, I couldn't help but chuckle. I sat down beside on the bed.

"Did you forget that you only live an hour away?" I teased lightly. "_And_ wasn't it you who told me that Christmas break is in a week." Her face un-tensed as she processed my words and eventually smiled, but just before she was about to open her mouth to say something, a sudden low, menacing growl shut us both up. I looked at her quizzically.

"Was that your stomach?" I asked in disbelief. Karaline's cheeks began to burn again as she giggled.

"Yes," she admitted.

"Let's get some food first before I take you back."

• •

I hated being out in public and only forced myself out of the house whenever it was absolutely necessary, but thinking that I would be away from her for over a week made me realize that I would take any time with her… even if it meant being in a crowded breakfast café.

I couldn't remember the last time I was around so many people at once. I was getting a headache with all the noise and it didn't help that Karaline left me alone to use the restroom. Closing my eyes, I leaned my head against my hands as I propped my elbows up on the table and tried to focus in on one random conversation to lessen the overwhelming volume in the room – but it was then that my attention was caught.

"Karaline?" someone called out. I snapped my head up to see where it came from but the café was too crowded.

"Ryan?" Immediately I located the source as soon as I heard her familiar voice respond. My head snapped around to find Karaline standing in front of a well-groomed, blond man around our age.

"Wow, it's good to see you," he said, awkwardly opening his arms to offer Karaline a hug. I caught the small lack of enthusiasm in his voice. I watched her as she stood there for a moment in hesitation before leaning in to accept his hug.

"It's good to see you too," her soft voice responded. Her tone confused me. Though it was very light and friendly, there was something else hidden behind it, that I noticed, however I couldn't quite put my finger on it.

"What are you doing here? I thought you were in Sacramento," the blond man said. Though I couldn't see her face, I could sense the tension as she stood before him uncomfortably.

"I was in town for a bit, but I'm leaving today," she answered simply.

"Oh," suddenly he turned towards someone next to him that I hadn't noticed before. "How rude of me. I would like to introduce you to Gracie," he hesitated for a moment before continuing, "my fiancé." At that moment, so quietly that only my wolf-hearing was capable of detecting, I heard Karaline gasp. However, she kept her composure as he spoke to the girl next to him, "Honey, this is Karaline, my-"

"Your ex-girlfriend," the tall, pretty red head girl finished his sentence as she stood next to him and smiled down at Karaline, reaching out to shake hands with her. "I've heard a lot about you." She clung close to Ryan in a sort of protective way and though her smile looked kind, it was hard to miss the negative look in her green eyes.

"It's nice to finally meet you," Karaline said, kindly with a hint of shakiness in her voice. "And congratulations."

"Likewise," the red head nodded. "And thank you." I wasn't sure, but it looked as if the red heads smile was somehow twisting into a slight smirk.

"Is it just you that's here?" the blond asked – with that, I found my que to interrupt. Quickly I covered the distance between me and them with a few strides. Karaline jumped slightly in surprise as I wound my arm around her waist.

"No, she's not," I interfered, glancing down at Karaline. Her expression caught me off guard for a moment – her usually sparkling blue eyes, now held a dimmed glimmer of pain. I wanted to pick her up and hold her right then and there – do anything to get rid of that look in her eye.

I held my hand out towards the blond. "Derek Hale." The blond had a look of surprise in his eyes as he peered up at me and shook my hand.

"Ryan Stilinski," he said. Stilinski? It sounded familiar.

Ryan turned towards the red head, who had a different look in her eye this time as I reached out to offer my hand.

"Gracie Davis," she introduced herself. I nodded at her as she held on to my hand a little too long. "It's nice to meet you, Derek," the red head said in a silky voice. "How do you two know each other?" she glanced between us.

My stern expression twisted into a slight smirk. "I'm Karaline's boyfriend."


	15. Chapter 15

**I'm back! (: I know you all hate me for taking over a month off. IM SORRYYY! I started school last month, and since it's my senior year, I've just got so much going on! I've got so many college applications, scholarship essays, homework, and extracurricular stuff to take care of like DECA and work ): But I finally got a weekend off and got caught up on everything. I can't promise that updates will be as quick as they were over the summer, but I will try my best to put them up faster!**

**Alsoooo, check out my other Teen Wolf / Derek Fanfic called REVELATION! Its about how Kate disappears for several years, and Derek somehow finds himself with a little girl familiar blond curly hair and similar green eyes… ;) Read it!**

**Sorry if this chapter isn't as great as the others… I'm a little rusty since I haven't written in such a long time :O! **

**Okay thanks loves. Read, review, and enjoy (:**

The trip to Sacramento was quiet. Too quiet.

Karaline had been sitting so still with her body turned towards the window so that I couldn't see her face – but I could feel the tension in her. It got me worried. Was she upset with me? Was I too straight forward when I introduced myself as her boyfriend? Or was she upset about that blond guy?

Automatically my grip on the steering wheel tightened as I thought about him and the red head. It was obvious that it was hard for Karaline to see him – and for me to see that glimmer of pain in her eyes killed me. I had no idea who the guy was, what he did, or what he meant to Karaline – but I wanted to rip his throat out.

The silence was torture.

"Karaline," I finally spoke up. I waited, but she didn't move. Her stillness frightened me. "Karaline please," I said in a softer tone. "Talk to me," I pleaded.

She turned towards me slowly and my heart stopped as she stared at me with an expression that I had never seen on any person before. I couldn't tell if it was sadness, anger, confusion, or all three, but the lightness in her eyes that never failed to leave was completely gone. She was unreadable.

"Yes?" she asked trying to keep control of the shakiness in her voice.

I hesitated for moment regretting not planning out what to say before I spoke up. I chose to get right to the point. "Who is he?" I asked with no anger, no hostility. By now my concentration directed more at her rather than the road as her blue eyes failed to look back at me. She was quiet for a long time, but I stayed patient. I could see her mind racing a mile a minute trying to draw the courage to speak up. Her body was limp as she slouched slightly – her beautiful confidence completely erased.

Finally, she spoke. "He was my boyfriend," she said. "We started dating in high school and were together for several years." Karaline tried to keep her voice as normal as possible, trying to hide the sadness, but it was hard to miss that softness in her tone. "Then he met Gracie."

And with that, I knew the rest of the story – Karaline didn't need to go on. I looked at her from the corner of my eye, watching her strength unfold before me as she covered up any sense of pain that glimmered in her eyes not too long ago.

I hesitated with my next question, staying quiet for a couple minutes – I was frightened to ask, but I knew that it was necessary to know. "Do you still love him?"

Suddenly, her body tensed. "_No_," I glanced at her for a moment, taken aback by her sudden change of tone – her blue eyes flickered with fire. "_No_, Derek," she repeated with a slight sense of hysteria in her voice. She turned back towards the window, shaking her head. "_No_," she said once again. Her unexpected anger was actually scary.

"After all he did, how could I love him?" she whispered, still looking out the window. At this point I wasn't sure who she was talking to. "We had our whole lives planned out together. He was so good to me and I trusted Ryan. Our families were close and all of my friends envied me for having what seemed like a 'perfect' high school romance. He loved me and I loved him very much, or at least I thought so. And when you're that young, you believe everything. Then one day Ryan just got up and left me like it was nothing." She paused for a moment, regaining control of her emotions as her voice started to shake.

"He told me Gracie was the one for him." She chuckled humorlessly. Karaline turned away from the window, but looked straight ahead towards the road, avoiding my gaze.

"He took everything from me." Her voice was lifeless. My heart clenched – I had no words for her.

"But I don't hate him," she stated. I turned towards her in surprise at what she had just said.

"Why?" I asked trying to the hide the shock inside of me. _She _may not hate him, but I couldn't say the same for myself.

She shook her head. "I'm mad at myself," she said in disappointment. "I was so naïve and fell into his trap for so long. Such a large part of my life was just wasted because of him and in the end I had nothing left in me. I blame myself for ending up in that horrible state that I was left in." She scowled at the dashboard for a long time as I waited for her to continue.

"When I saw them today, it didn't hurt to see her. When I saw Gracie, I really had no emotion towards her, but it was him that killed me. It was like all that pain flooded back inside of me and I felt so embarrassed." Her blue eyes were still.

I was quiet for a moment as I process everything that she had just said while my emotions boiled inside of me. On one hand, my body almost began to shake with anger as I thought about Ryan. I wanted to rip him to pieces – though I know Karaline would never approve, but Ryan wouldn't go unpunished for what he did to her, I'll make sure of it. And on the other side, my heart bled. If anyone knew what it was like to lose everything – whether it was your one love, or your entire family – it was me. I took all of my strength to not reach out and pull her into my arms, for I still had one more lingering question to ask.

As soon as I pulled up to her apartment and turned off the car, I took in a deep breath. "Are you upset with me?" I asked, completely redirecting the subject – I couldn't stand to see her in pain anymore. She blinked at me in pulled her eyebrows together. Her face twisted quizzically.

"For what?" she replied. I scowled down at the steering wheel, unable to look at her.

"You know what I'm talking about," I said, trying to make my voice sound as unharsh as I could. At this point, I was starting to feel embarrassed asking such a question. It took a moment before Karaline caught on to what I was asking about – and to my surprise, she took my hand and chuckled.

"Why would I be upset at becoming your girlfriend?" she asked smiling, the light glimmer back in her beautiful blue eyes. She cupped my check and pulled me down to her awaiting lips. All of my anger, pain, confusion or whatever else escaped my mind as her sweet scent engulfed me. She pulled away after a moment and knelt her forehead to mind, closing her eyes. My body un-tensed as I held her close. "Thank you for everything," she whispered. "I miss you already," Karaline laughed quietly. I closed the distance between our lips to give her one last kiss before she left.

"Karaline," I called out to her right before she closed the passenger door. She bent down and looked at me curiously with her angelic blue eyes. "I have a surprise for you when you get back to Beacon Hills this weekend."

Her head turned to the side as she squinted at me, teasingly. "I don't like surprises, Derek."

"Too bad," I smirked before pulling the car out and heading back to town.


	16. Chapter 16

**Well hi there =)! I am back after about a year. You didn't think I was coming back for ya huh? ;) I had a very hectic senior year and had trouble finding time to just figure out where this story was going. It took me a long time (obviously) to figure out how to transition from where this story was, to where I wanted it to go. I'm still not 100% and not completely happy with this chapter, but I have kept you guys waiting long enough and I do have confidence in this one. I hope you guys enjoy it, but please review. I like feedback and listening to ways that I can improve my story or even ideas for the plot! Thank you for the support during my hiatus!**

**BTW. I have been updating my other Derek FanFic, Revelation, more than this one, so if you ever get tired of waiting for me to update Redemption, then jump to Revelation! Super short summary: Derek finds out he's a father to a little girl whose mother is…**

**I hope you enjoy this chapter and again thank you! xoxo M**

"What are we doing?" I peered up at Derek as he held the car door open for me. He shrugged, keeping a sly smile on his face. I thought that he would have forgotten about the whole "surprise" by now, but then again we were only away from each other for a couple of days – however, to me it felt like a lot more.

I thought of myself as child while I sat in my apartment brushing through my hair one more time and rechecking my make-up with my foot tapping the floor, impatiently. It had been a long week. Sitting through class was hell and I had the most difficult time focusing when it came time to study.

I missed Derek. More than I thought I would. But not only did I miss him, but I was worried.

Though I told him not to go out hunting for the Alpha, I knew he would never listen. When did men ever listen? I was scared for myself too, ofcourse, but I _knew_ that the Alpha was waiting and until he was done waiting for whatever _it_ was to happen, then he would come after me. However, neither of us knew what "it" was, therefore in order to play safe, Derek needed to stay away from him. One false move by Derek and the Alpha could snap - then game over.

Being away from him made me very worried and because of this, sleep had almost been impossible these past few nights.

When my last class of the day had ended, I suddenly felt a nervousness pumping throughout my body. It took me by surprise, why couldn't I just calm down? My anxiety had gotten worse every day and I wasn't sure if it was because of the whole Alpha situation or… Derek. But when I saw a familiar tall figure leaning against a black Camaro parked outside my class, my mind suddenly came at ease and my heart fluttered.

I ran towards him and his awaiting green eyes. Derek pulled me into his arms almost picking me off my feet, holding me without saying a word. I took in his sweet scent while I kept my arms wrapped tightly around his neck – all the anxiety and stress that I had experienced the entire week was gone in an instant. It felt so good to be with him again.

•••

"Don't worry about it," his velvet voice responded as I laced my fingers through his. Derek led me through the revolving doors, nodding towards the bellhop as we made our way to the elevator. I turned slightly to examine the man next to me – the past couple of days I had tried to not think about his goddess like appearance and now that it was right here holding onto my hand, I couldn't help myself. He was gorgeous.

He peeked down at me with his stunning green eyes, making my cheeks flush pink. "What?" he teased.

I smiled down at the floor. "Nothing."

Derek turned his body towards me while his hand appeared, cupping my face. I looked up into his soft eyes and smiled. "What are you thinking?" he spoke quietly. His comforting scent rushed at me and it took all my strength to not take him right there.

I squinted at him in hesitation, playfully before answering."I missed you," I whispered, "that's all." With that Derek bent down to press his soft lips to mine. His kiss was something that I had been yearning to feel again the entire week. My heart beat began to quicken and without thinking, I reached up to run my fingers through his hair and pull him closer, deepening the kiss, but suddenly, Derek pulled back, chuckling softly. I was out of breath while my mind was in a daze.

"I missed you too," he whispered as the elevator door opened. I had completely forgotten about our surroundings - all I could think about was him. "But we'll have more time for that later," he said with a sly smile on his face that made my stomach twist with butterflies. Derek took a hold of my hand, leading me towards the front of the penthouse. Before opening the door, he stopped for a moment and looked up over his shoulder at me.

"You ready for your surprise?" he asked.

I scrunched up my nose. "Is this completely necessary?" I questioned back. Derek just smiled before turning to open the double doors – when he did, my eyes widened.

The penthouse looked the same as it had a week ago, except for the gorgeous set up in the middle of the empty space between the kitchen and the den. The large room was dimmed with the only source of light coming from the candles glittering in the middle of a table set for two. Surrounding the table was a flutter of rose petals on the floor and the scent of something delicious was wafting through the air. Though it was very simple, it was gorgeous.

"Derek," I began, taking a step closer to the precious set-up. I turned towards him, finding him standing there watching my reaction with a curious look on his face. "This is -," I was actually at a loss of words. "It's beautiful."

Derek just smiled as he led me closer to the table and pulled one of the seats out for me before he vanished into the kitchen only to return with two large plates in his hands – the aroma suddenly came rushing at me. I looked up at Derek as he placed my plate of what looked and smelled like fettuccini alfredo in front of me and sat down with his. It smelled absolutely delicious.

I tiled my head and slanted my eyes at him, pursing my lips. "Olive Garden take-out?" I teased, with a hint of seriousness inside of me. I could see his signature scowl look through the glimmer of the candle light across the table.

"Funny," he replied humorlessly. "I made this myself."

My eyes widened for a second as I examined my plate. The entire meal from the light coating of shredded cheese on top of noodles to the side of mashed potatoes was all put together very neatly. I unfolded my fork from its napkin next to me and placed a small portion of the fettucini into my mouth for a taste – it was even tastier than it looked. Could he really have been the source of this?

I could feel Derek's eyes watching me as I began to eat more. "What do you think?" he questioned as he began to dig into his meal.

"I think this is too good to be true," I slanted my eyes at him playfully as I took another bite.

He shrugged. "Suit yourself." I chuckled.

We continued to eat our meal with light conversation relating to how my week went. I filled him in on what went on in my classes while I tried to get some answers on what he did all week. I knew that this wasn't the time or place to find out if he had gone behind my back to handle any Alpha business, therefore I tried my best to stay away from that topic.

"What about you? What did you do all week?" I said, choosing my words carefully.

Again he just shrugged while twirling a piece of pasta around his fork. "Nothing," he replied casually. He showed no readable expression which frustrated me to the core as it always had.

"Hm," I unintentionally scowled at him slightly, allowing my dissatisfaction to get the best of me for the moment. He always gave me a hard time when it came to finding out information about him and he knew that I wasn't happy about it.

"Alright, I'll tell you," he replied with a sudden light tone. My held tilted to the side.

My head tilted to the side, "tell me what?"

"What I did all week," he said with the same voice. I felt like this was a trap as I caught the glimmer in his eyes.

"Okay… what did you do?" I asked cautiously.

Derek swallowed a bite of pasta as he leaned a little closer over the table towards me. "I thought about you the entire week." I coughed immediately as I caught the playfulness in his tone.

"Wow," I smiled, playing along with his game. "The _entire week?_" I whistled. Derek winked back before placing another fork-full of alfredo in his mouth. We smiled at each other slyly for a moment as he finished eating.

When he looked back up at me, his eyes still held a lightness in them, but there was a more serious vibe this time around. "I did. I missed you a lot," he said intently. My heart sped up. "But besides that," the passion in his eyes washing away quickly, "I was training Scott," he asserted, changing the subject swiftly. I noticed that Derek never really liked to show emotion and by now I had learned that it was because he just wasn't used to expressing it.

"Oh," I was caught off guard for a moment by the topic switch. "And how is he doing?" I asked.

Derek stabbed his fork on his plate mindlessly, "he's stubborn," Derek mumbled.

"Oh! Is that right?" I chuckled. "Look who's talking," I replied with a grin. A smile started to appear faintly on his lips as he leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms.

"You guys are more alike than you know," I winked before finishing up the last of my dinner.

"If anyone should be compared to Scott, it would be you, Karaline," he sassed back. "You're as hard-headed as they get." His green eyes shined with amusement. I gasped lightly, leaning back in my chair and folded my arms, mocking his posture.

"Oh yeah?" I shot back, playfully.

Derek shrugged. "I guess it runs in the genes."

I bit my lip trying not to laugh. It was hard to argue with him on that one – he was right. The McCall blood line did have some issues with being very adamant, or as Auntie Melissa and my mother like to call it, being "willful".

I looked back over at him through the dim flicker of the candles scattered on the table. The world was quiet and the air was calm as Derek stared back at me with an expression that seemed to be a mixture of curiosity and delight. For once, he appeared to be relaxed and his calmness was radiating off of me, making my heart beat steady.

_**Derek's Perspective**_

I had never seen a more perfect sight painted before me.

Sure I had seen many gorgeous women in the past, but this time… it didn't feel the same. Karaline was different. She was beautiful.

The soft shadows that bounced just slightly from the motion of the candle flames highlighted almost every feature of her angelic face from the fullness of her lips to the dark blue pools of her eyes shaded by her long lashes.

For the weeks that I had spent with this girl, I had become more and more confused as to why I was feeling so… weak. _Weak_ was the word that I had finally landed upon. _Different, dazed, lost – _these initial conclusions that I had come up with before were incorrect. The word that held truth, was _weak_.

At first, in my head, it sounded as if "weak" was just completely unacceptable. For years I had been the tough-skinned, unmovable man that could not be messed with… and in an instant, it changed. I changed. How could a girl break me down like this? I built up too many walls that were almost impossible to break down and I never had the intention of letting anyone and anything come close to even touching them – I wanted it that way. I had lost too much and in my mind, there was no need for a "new beginning" as some people called it. I didn't want anything new, I just wanted back what once was mine – my family. I had become a master at shutting the world out. I believed that nothing could hurt me and for a very long time I was successful at keeping others away. But not everything is indestructible.

From the moment Karaline appeared in my line of darkness, I had no chance. It was like I was blind-sided by her light. It was too easy for her to break down my walls – never had I ever had to put up a fight to keep a person or something out of my space, it always came natural. But with her, I was defenseless and being away from her for a week made me realize that I needed her with me.

_Fuck_. It upset me to think that I had gotten to this point… however, I couldn't fight it. Karaline had redeemed me from my darkness and I knew I no longer wanted to shut her out.

Suddenly, a new wave swept over her blue eyes and her steady heart beat quickened once again. Slowly she stood up from her seat and made her way to my side of the table while I wrapped my arms around her waist while she sat on my lap. Her sweet scent engulfed me as she stared at me nervously.

My eyebrows pulled together. "What is it?" I asked her, trying to keep the natural sternness out of my voice.

She looked away in uneasiness for a moment. "Karaline, what is it?" I repeated more concerned.

She was quiet until a few moments later she looked back up at me with softness that I couldn't read. "I love you, Derek," she whispered. Her eyebrows pulled together and her lips trembled slightly as she began to speak through my silence, "I know that you probably don't –"

I stopped her from rambling as I pulled Karaline in to meet my lips. I missed her, truly, and to feel her kiss once again after a week was perfect – but to hear those words from her was completely different, it was like she read my mind. I inched away from her and I knew exactly what I was to do next – I held no hesitation, no fear, and no frustration. The words at the tip of my tongue felt right.

"Karaline," I breathed as she looked up at me dazed, "I love you too."


End file.
